The prosecution of Minnesota State football coach Todd Hoffner appeared to look like a mistake in October, when Hoffner's attorney released details of an evaluation that determined Hoffner's children were neither abused nor maltreated, and that child protective services would not even need to conduct an investigation of their own. Today, a judge in Blue Earth County (Minn.) made it official by dismissing the case entirely.
Hoffner, 46, had been charged with felony counts of using minors in a sexual performance and possession of child pornography. He was arrested in August after bringing his school-issued cell phone to the university's IT department for repairs. An IT department employee discovered three videos of Hoffner's children, all under the age of 10, dancing naked and touching themselves. The school had placed him on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case. The allegations were outwardly shocking, but Hoffner and his wife have maintained from the beginning that the videos depicted innocent moments of their children being, well, children.
Judge Krista Jass agreed:
"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 ruling.
[AP]