STAR TRIBUNE by Richard Maryhew
MANKATO - Finally, Todd Hoffner had a Saturday to celebrate.
For the first time in more than three months, the head football coach at Minnesota State University, Mankato woke up clear of the felony child pornography charges that had turned his life upside down.
Hours later, his undefeated Mavericks kept their national championship dreams alive by defeating Missouri Western 17-10 to advance to the NCAA Division II semifinals. But Hoffner wasn't there to see it.
Even though a judge on Friday dismissed criminal charges stemming from two videos Hoffner recorded in June of his three young children dancing naked and touching themselves, an ongoing university investigation kept him off the university campus -- as it has all season. So instead, Hoffner spent the day at home in nearby Eagle Lake, watching his team's victory on a computer.
Although Hoffner was absent from the Blakeslee Stadium sidelines Saturday, he was on the minds of many. As scores of Maverick fans draped in the purple and gold school colors braced against the December chill and readied for the noon kickoff, many expressed sympathy and support for their 46-year-old coach, who hasn't set foot in the stadium or talked with his assistants since he was escorted from the practice field by university officials in August and told he was being put on investigative leave.
The videos, found when Hoffner turned in his malfunctioning, campus-issued cellphone to the school's IT department, were the only evidence presented at the time of his arrest. Subsequent searches of his home computers and video equipment, interviews with his children, and investigations into cell and computer records at other colleges where he had coached turned up nothing to support the charges.
"They screwed up," said John Swenson, a Mavericks fan from Elysian. "I have pictures of my boy when he was young and in the bathtub. Who doesn't have those? It's so inappropriate what they did to the coach."
In her strongly worded ruling, District Judge Krista Jass said the videos of the children performing a skit showed nothing lewd, sexual or pornographic, but merely children "dancing and acting playful after a bath."
Becky Vosburg, a North Mankato resident and 1982 MSU graduate, wondered if prosecutors were influenced by the child sex-abuse scandal at Penn State University that cost head coach Joe Paterno his job and sent former assistant Jerry Sandusky to prison. "If we wouldn't have had the Sandusky thing a year ago, I don't think they would have been as quick to judge him and prosecute him," she said.
Hoffner said Friday that he wants to return to his job. But that can't happen until the university reinstates him. Given Jass' ruling Friday, some fans wondered why that hasn't already happened.
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This is just plain wrong and weird. Why would you want a video of kids doing that.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Hodek
Per. 3
This is stupid why someone would want a naked video of their own children.It is just wrong,weird,and I would feel very awkward if my parents did that to me.I would probably call or tell someone about it.People(adults and children)should have rules about that.I strongly dislike this,No one should ever do that to their children.
ReplyDeletechelsey jensen p7.
It says they were video's of his own children, so of course a parent would have video's of their kids. I see some things like that on America's home funniest videos(AFV) and doesn't mean I'm watching child porn on national TV. Besides a parent would want to video tape their kids when they're young so they can save the memories of their kids so they can remember all the good times of raising them before their little baby walks out that door and into adulthood.
ReplyDeleteP:2
P. Kevin Bouphasavanh
I think that it was cute that he took pictures of his children. I don't think that it was a bad thing that he took pictures. The kids could see them when the were older and see how cute they were when they were babies.
ReplyDeleteAshleyOtto p2
I agree with Kevin just because he has videos of his own children doesn't mean he's telling them to do it. Kids do weird stuff like that and people want memories of it. But if he did tell them to do that then it's a different story. I wouldn't let him on my property either.
ReplyDeleteDavid Hoang
P3
I agree with Kevin , Ashley , David ,and Chelsey.It was bad for the father to take the pictures but he could of ben jest saving memories for when his kids have kids and see how cute or funny there parents were.But if he told the kids to do stuff then it was very wrong of the guy to take advantage of his own kids and that makes me sick to even think that there's people out there that do that. :(
ReplyDeleteBryanna Bue P7
Every parent has pictures of their kids in the bathtub or on the toilet potty training.
ReplyDeleteThese photos are often reserved for future embarrassment!
If a parent really loves their child, well of course they have one such video recorded somewhere!
Kids are goofy and they really don't know what they're doing.
So for this man to get charged with child pornography is kind of stupid. They're his kids. I'm sure his parental instincts would have him protect his kids in a split of a heartbeat.
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