Ex-Alaska attorney general pleads not guilty to sexual abuse

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A former Alaska attorney general has pleaded not guilty to charges he sexually abused a minor three decades ago when he was the alleged victim’s high school coach. Fifty-eight-year-old Clyde “Ed” Sniffen entered his plea Monday through his attorney. The allegations date back to when Sniffen was 27 and was a lawyer in private practice but served as the coach of the then 17-year-old girl’s mock trial competition team at an Anchorage high school. She has said the sexual relationship began during a trip to New Orleans for a national competition and continued for about two years back in Anchorage.