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Crime, Law and Justice
MPR News Staff
Updated:

Former teacher, coach in Minneapolis faces new charges of sexually assaulting children

Two mugshot photos of man
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office on Thursday said that 45-year-old Aaron Hjermstad allegedly assaulted 12 different victims, all under the age of 13, between 2013 and 2021.
Booking photo courtesy Minnesota Department of Corrections

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A grand jury in Hennepin County has indicted an already-imprisoned former teacher and coach on 12 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office on Thursday said that 45-year-old Aaron Hjermstad allegedly assaulted 12 different victims, all under the age of 13, between 2013 and 2021.

He was a coach and teacher at two charter schools in Minneapolis.

The county attorney’s office said Hjermstad is already in prison on a 12-year sentence for sexually assaulting four other children he had coached.

Prior to sentencing in that case, the county attorney’s office said, Hjermstad fled the state and was later arrested in Idaho. Law enforcement there allegedly found thousands of videos showing Hjermstad assaulting children, some at his Brooklyn Center home.

That data was turned over to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension — and led to the new indictment.

Each of the new counts carries a potential penalty of up to life in prison, with a chance for parole. Hjermstad currently is in the state prison in Moose Lake with an anticipated release date of Nov. 21, 2029.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in a news release called the case “horrific” and said her office will seek lengthy prison sentences.

“As a community we must do more to help abused children come forward and to provide resources to heal the harm inflicted upon them,” Moriarty said. “Abuse is never a child’s fault.”

A 24-hour statewide sexual violence and domestic violence hotline is available in Minnesota. You can call Minnesota Day One at (866) 223-1111 or text (612) 399-9995.