Coach cleared of child porn wants files sealed

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota State University, Mankato, head football coach Todd Hoffner, who was cleared of child pornography charges last month that stemmed from videos found on his cellphone of his naked children clowning around after a bath, is suing to keep the police investigative reports sealed.

Hoffner has been taken off administrative leave, but he hasn’t been reinstated as head coach and is facing a 20-day, unpaid school suspension in January for unspecified reasons. He sued the state and Blue Earth County earlier this month in an effort to keep the police reports private, after a Twin Cities television station asked to see them. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order that would keep anyone from disseminating the investigative file.

District Court Judge Krista Jass ruled last week that the reports will remain private until they can be reviewed.

Jass ordered prosecutors to gather all investigative reports and turn them over to Hoffner’s attorney, Jim Fleming. He’ll be allowed to file a sealed list of information that he believes should be kept from the public. After receiving Fleming’s list, Jass will decide what should remain sealed.

Last week, the university said it had taken Hoffner off of administrative leave but hadn’t reinstated him as coach. In a statement, the university didn’t give reasons for the decision, citing data privacy laws. But the school did say it was still investigating a complaint against Hoffner. University officials didn’t elaborate.

Tags: college sports, sports