MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Investigators found no evidence of child pornography on computers taken from the home of a Minnesota football coach accused of having nude videos of his children on his cellphone, authorities said Friday.
Minnesota State, Mankato coach Todd Hoffner was charged with two child pornography counts after three videos of his children were found on his work-issued cellphone when he took it to the university for service.
His attorney and wife have publicly rejected the charges as ridiculous, saying the videos simply captured the family’s children being silly.
Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Capt. Rich Murry said Friday a search of computers taken from the Hoffner home found “no additional items that would be considered child pornography.” The information was being forwarded to the county attorney's office.
Hoffner’s attorney, James Fleming, said he was confident authorities would not come up with any additional evidence and the case will focus on the images recovered from the cellphone.
“So now we are dealing with: Are these images in fact, child pornography?” Fleming said. “And I believe that it’s going to be shown very clearly _ they are not.”
The videos include images of Hoffner’s children behaving “silly” after a bath, Fleming said.
Prosecutor Mike Hanson did not return phone messages seeking comment.
Hoffner was charged last month with one count of using minors in a sexual performance or pornographic work and one count of possessing child pornography. Both are felonies.
He was escorted off the football practice field after the videos were found, and remains on leave pending a university investigation.
At a hearing earlier Friday, Fleming pressed for greater access to the cellphone videos, saying he needed them to mount his defense. Fleming has seen the images but must go to the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Department to view them _ with officials looking over his shoulder.
Blue Earth District Court Judge Krista Jass took that request under advisement.
According to an affidavit in the case, audio on one of the videos includes a child saying: “Dad, that’s not the show, make him do it right,” and a man’s voice says, “Do it over.”
Fleming said the suggestion that Hoffner was directing his children is “absolutely wrong.”
“I’ve seen that affidavit. And I have seen the video. And that representation is wrong,” he said.
View Entire Story
By Andrew P. Napolitano
The president's men trash the Constitution to pursue antagonists
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
First over-the-counter column approved for fast and effective relief from even your worst media-induced headache.
Opinion, analysis, and musings on politics, pop culture, reinvention, and the resultant flotsam and jetsam floating around the right-of-center quadrant of the Left Coast.
Consummate traveler Todd DeFeo explores the unique stories that make destinations worth going to.
We welcome you to the intimate and personal thoughts on the news and events we, as editors, watch, read, and discuss with our writers every day.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
13 Photos
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
18 Photos
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
11 Photos
