Former Youth Basketball Coach from Brooklyn Center Charged with Sexually Abusing Players
A youth basketball coach from Brooklyn Center has been charged with sexually abusing his players. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says the abuse happened at the coach’s Brooklyn Center home, where the player would spend the night.
Aaron Hjermstad, 41, was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was arrested last week. He has also been charged in a separate case for abusing another athlete he coached.
According to the criminal complaint, on June 10, 2020, Brooklyn Center police received a report of sexual child abuse committed by Hjermstad. The criminal complaint says the 14-year-old boy informed his mother that three years earlier, Hjermstad assaulted him while he was staying at Hjermstad’s house in Brooklyn Center. The criminal complaint says the abuse happened four to five times, when the victim was between 10-12 years old. The complaint says the coach threatened the boy with playing time if he did not comply.
Hjermstad was also charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct and soliciting another child. The criminal complaint says that in March, Brooklyn Center police received a report from a 12-year-old boy that had been propositioned by his coach when he was staying over at Hjermstad’s house in February. The complaint says the Hjermstad also inappropriately interacted with the victim last fall when the boy’s brother was sleeping in the next room.
Read the full release here.
