Case dismissed against Minnesota-Mankato coach Hoffner

George Schroeder and Daniel Uthman, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

The case against Todd Hoffner, the suspended Minnesota State-Mankato football coach accused of child pornography, was dismissed Friday, almost a month after he took the stand to defend himself against the charges. Still uncertain, though, is what the future holds for the coach.

Hoffner, 46, faced two felony charges – using minors in a sexual performance or pornographic work and possession of child pornography – after three cell-phone videos of naked or partially clothed children were discovered on his university-issued cell phone. According to court records, the videos, which were discovered in August by a university technician after Hoffner turned in his malfunctioning BlackBerry, were later determined to be of Hoffner's own children, ages 9, 8 and 5.

"There's nothing inappropriate about any of those videos," Hoffner said during testimony Oct. 31 at a motion-to-dismiss hearing.

Blue Earth County District Court Krista Jass agreed. In dismissing the case for lack of probable cause, she ruled the videos did not meet the legal definition of child pornography and that there was not substantial evidence that Hoffner "used or permitted his minor children to pose or model in a 'sexual performance' or 'pornographic work.' " Jass also wrote:

"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."

At a news conference Friday afternoon in Mankato, Minn., Hoffner read a statement but did not take questions. He noted 102 seconds of videos resulted in 102 days of a "long, painful nightmare."

"Our lives have been turned upside down," he said, adding: "I'm really looking forward to getting back to my life, my job and my family."

But what comes next isn't certain. The university launched an investigation of Hoffner and placed him on paid administrative leave August 17; he was arrested several days later. His team is 12-0 and earned the top seed in the NCAA Division II football playoffs under interim head coach and offensive coordinator Aaron Keen. The Mavericks play Saturday in the Division II quarterfinals against Missouri Western State.

Dan Benson, a university spokesman, told USA TODAY Sports, "From the university standpoint, there has not been any change in Todd Hoffner's status. He remains on paid administrative leave. He continues in that status, and we have a pending university investigation. Because of that, we are unable to comment further on anything specific regarding Todd."

Jim Fleming, Hoffner's attorney, told USA TODAY Sports the next goal is Hoffner's reinstatement as coach. "There's elation in the sense that this is done (legally)," Fleming said. "We still want Todd to be reinstated as coach. (The felony charges were) the basis for the action they were taking against him."

Several Mankato residents interviewed in October by USA TODAY Sports referenced the recent scandal involving former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, wondering whether it influenced university and law enforcement officials.

"The damage is done. His reputation is tainted. On the tip of everybody's tongue is 'Sandusky,' " said John Harrington, a longtime Mankato resident and Minnesota State-Mankato booster, noting that when he "googled Todd's name, immediately a picture of him comes up in an orange jumpsuit."

Harrington added: "Seeing what it's done to Todd, I still know why (the university) did what it did when it started (the investigation). But from then on, I don't know how it's not been dropped."

Fleming said he still can't figure out why it wasn't. He said he twice asked Blue Earth County assistant county attorney Michael Hanson to dismiss the charges.

"I felt in my core this was not child pornography," he said. "Once I saw the videos, it was: 'You have got to be kidding me.' "

Hanson issued a statement Friday saying, "Our office was trying to enforce a statute enacted to protect children. … While we do not agree with (Jass') decision to dismiss the case, we accept it."

In an unusual move, Hoffner took the stand Oct. 31 during a pretrial hearing on the motion to dismiss. In 45 minutes of testimony, he explained how and why he recorded the videos one evening last summer. He said the evening of June 26, he was "working on football stuff" in the family's living room, and sent the three children to take a bubble bath together. He said the children were "very" comfortable when naked together.

When they finished the bath, Hoffner testified, the children came downstairs wearing towels and asked him to record a video, then dropped the towels and danced naked. At one point, according to court records, Hoffner's son grabbed his own penis. At another point, the girls bent over and pulled apart their buttocks.

Hoffner described his daughters attempting some sort of skit, "singing and dancing and laughing, doing silly things, having fun," while his son attempted to "sabotage" the girls' performance. He said he did not instruct the children.

In the ruling, Jass agreed, writing: "It is clear from the children's statements on the videos that the performance was created by them and not Defendant. Defendant never directs or poses the children. All statements made by Defendant on the videos are of a passive nature, inquiring if the children are finished with their performance. Moreover, nothing about the children's performance is overly erotic or sexual.

"There is simply no evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, that reasonably demonstrates Defendant knew or had reason to know his children intended their after-bath skit to be a 'sexual performance' or 'pornographic work' as those terms are defined by Minnesota law."

Hoffner's case was buttressed by the testimony of Holly Barkeim, a child protective services specialist with Blue Earth County Human Services. Jass wrote Barkeim "credibly testified" she did not find evidence of sexual abuse during interviews with Hoffner's children or when viewing the videos.

Searches of Hoffner's home and office turned up no other evidence. According to reports in multiple Minnesota newspapers, officials at three universities where Hoffner previously worked conducted reviews and found no improper conduct. Background checks by USA TODAY Sports found no criminal record for Hoffner.

In a closing statement during the Oct. 31 hearing, Hanson said: "Adults should not make movies of children in lewd poses. Period. There should be no parental exceptions."

In dismissing the charges, Jass wrote: "At no time did the children perform a lewd or erotic act. In fact, none of the children's actions are age-inappropriate. They acted as any child, acutely aware of his/her nakedness, would act – playful and silly."