Jurors have convicted a former northern Minnesota high school assistant football coach of raping a woman in her apartment.
Jurors convict former northern Minnesota high school coach of rape
The woman said he put something in her mouth that might have been a pill or candy, but she soon began to feel “loopy” and blacked out, the charges read.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
April 8, 2024 at 5:09PM
Ethan R. Hardy, 27, of Deer River, was found guilty by an Itasca County District Court jury of first-, third- and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the assault of an acquaintance in September 2022, while Hardy was still a coach for Deer River High School.
Hardy remains jailed without bail ahead of sentencing, which is scheduled for June 17.
Head football coach Brent Schimek said Hardy left the team during the 2022 season, after police began their investigation into the allegations.
According to the criminal complaint, the woman told police she was on a couch with Hardy at her apartment after a day of drinking alcohol. She said Hardy put something in her mouth that might have been a pill or candy, but she soon began to feel “loopy” and blacked out, the charges read.
Hardy then took her into her bedroom and raped her as she objected. She was in and out of consciousness, the charges said.
Under police questioning, Hardy denied being in the woman’s apartment that night. He said he was at football practice early that evening, then went home, where “he was alone with his kids, and there were no other adults present,” the complaint read.
These Minnesotans are poised to play prominent roles in state and national politics in the coming years.
