Probation for onetime Minnesota coach who admitted sexual assault of student

A onetime southern Minnesota high school counselor and girls' basketball coach has been put on probation for sexually assaulting a female student.

Richard J. Polley, 35, was sentenced Wednesday in Freeborn County District Court after pleading guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with an incident in January 2022 involving a 16-year-old student at his Albert Lea home.

As spelled out in the plea agreement, Judge Christy Hormann set aside a two-year sentence and put Polley on probation for five years. He was ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and complete recommended therapy.

In September, Polley was on trial on a more serious third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge, but that proceeding ended in a mistrial after a witness from law enforcement testified about evidence that had not been disclosed earlier to prosecutors or the defense.

Polley, a 2007 graduate of Albert Lea High School, was in his first season as head coach of the girls' basketball team at the time of the assault.

According to the criminal complaint:

The student told police that Polley was her counselor, had known him since the start of the school year, she “would go to his office frequently and they would talk about random things like how her day was going,” the complaint said.

In late December 2021, they started connecting on social media, and Polley soon expressed concern about people finding out.

Polley was at a sports bar in Albert Lea on Jan. 8, 2022, and speaking with the girl, who was at a friend’s home. Polley went home and invited the student over.

The student visited Polley, who then sexually assaulted her. She went back to her friend’s home after it happened.

Before being hired by the Albert Lea School District, Polley was a counselor and assistant football coach at Woodbury High School and a middle school counselor, according to his online biography.