Porn case against Mankato coach dropped

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota football coach sidelined by accusations of child pornography involving his own children reacted with relief Friday after a judge dismissed the case, saying he was “thankful to be waking up from this nightmare.”

Todd Hoffner, the head coach at Minnesota State-Mankato, was effectively cleared when a judge agreed with his assertion that innocent family videos had been misinterpreted. He had been escorted off a football practice field and arrested in August after a university employee came across cellphone videos of his children dancing and playing naked.

“My wife and I have anticipated this day for a very long time,” Hoffner said in a news conference at his attorneys’ offices. “It has finally taken a person with courage and authority to realize what these videos were.”

Hoffner said he wanted to return to work as soon as possible. The university said he will remain on administrative leave until its own investigation is complete. Hoffner has been on leave since the videos were discovered on his university-issued cellphone in August and turned over to police.

Hoffner testified earlier that his three young children asked him to videotape a skit they had concocted after taking a bubble bath. His wife, Melodee, has defended him, as have supporters who held candlelight vigils on his behalf.

A search of his home computer found no evidence of child porn, and social workers found no evidence that the couple’s children had been abused.

During the court hearing earlier Friday, Blue Earth County District Judge Krista Jass said she didn’t find any evidence that the videos amounted to pornography.

“The videos under consideration here contain nude images of Defendant’s minor children dancing and acting playful after a bath. That is all they contain,” Jass wrote in her 24-page ruling dismissing the charges.

Hoffner attorney Jim Fleming singled out Mike Hanson, an assistant county prosecutor, for bringing charges in the first

Tags: college sports, sports, crime