Minneapolis youth basketball coach charged in second sexual assault on child

A former Minneapolis schoolteacher and basketball coach has been charged a second time with sexually assaulting a boy he had coached.

Aaron J. Hjermstad, 41, of Brooklyn Center, was charged Thursday in Hennepin County District Court with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for performing a sex act on a preteen boy a few years ago.

Hjermstad was charged recently with one count each of soliciting a child and second-degree criminal sexual conduct for assaulting a different preteen boy in October and February.

That boy had spent the night at Hjermstad's home before a game.

Hjermstad and his lawyer could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Hjermstad had worked as a physical education and health teacher at the K-6 charter school, Mastery School, and was a basketball coach at Hospitality House Youth Development.

According to the new charges: Brooklyn Center police got a report June 10 that Hjermstad had abused a boy three years ago at Hjermstad's home. The boy told an investigator that Hjermstad was his basketball coach in 5th and 6th grade, an arrest warrant says. The boy, who was between 10 and 12 years old at the time, spent the night at Hjermstad's house four to five times.

The last time, the charges say, the boy was sleeping in Hjermstad's bed, woke up in the middle of the night and found Hjermstad performing a sex act on him.

The previous charges against Hjermstad alleged that he offered another boy money in February to perform a sex act, that he touched his genitals to the boy's foot in October and that he laid on top of the boy during an undated incident.

Hjermstad was charged via arrest warrant and was not in custody as of late Thursday afternoon.

An earlier version of this story said Hjermstad was a middle-school teacher; he actually worked at an elementary school.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708

Twitter: @ChaoStrib

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