Police Chief Randall Hoffman Charged With 52 Felonies In Abuse Case

[Whisper]

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota police chief and former state district judge has been charged with 52 felonies accusing him of molesting and attempting to rape a girl over the course of about five years, authorities said Friday.

Elgin Police Chief Randall Hoffman, 55, is accused of having sexual contact with the girl beginning in 2005, a criminal complaint said. It alleges Hoffman "engaged in at least 50 sexual acts" with the girl, who is now 17, from August 2008 until this month, then attempted to rape her Wednesday.
Hoffman is charged with a single count each of gross sexual imposition and continuous sexual abuse of a child. The sex abuse charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He also faces 50 counts of corruption or solicitation of a minor, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Elgin is a community of about 700 people 90 miles southwest of Bismarck, and Hoffman was its only police officer, prosecutors said. He had been chief since 2005, Mayor Duane Schatz said, and has been on administrative leave since his arrest Wednesday.

Hoffman, who is being held at Mercer County jail in Stanton, appeared by video Friday before South Central District Judge Thomas Schneider in Bismarck and was ordered held on a $500,000 cash bond. His next court appearance is Oct. 11.

During the hearing, Hoffman requested a court-appointed lawyer and said nothing about the allegations against him. He did say that he does not have an alcohol problem, does not do drugs and has family who would be willing to be responsible for him if he were freed on bond.

Hoffman did not respond Friday to messages for him left on the jail's voicemail system.

Jim Vukelic, the Grant County state's attorney, said at the bond hearing that the number of charges against Hoffman were "purposely underestimated" and that there was "strong corroboration" for allegations detailed in a Bureau of Criminal Investigation affidavit in the case. Schneider ordered the document sealed.

Hoffman was a state district judge in Jamestown for almost five years before resigning in April 1999, after a disciplinary complaint accused him of showing disrespect for the court system. Hoffman had criticized another judge's handling of his divorce case.

He was later twice suspended from practicing law and ordered to undergo anger management counseling. Court documents also show he was accused of stalking his former wife.

Hoffman ran unsuccessfully for Stutsman County prosecutor a year after his resignation, and sought election in 2002 to the same judgeship he had left. Earlier that year, he asked Gov. John Hoeven to appoint him to an East Central District judgeship in Fargo, saying in a letter that his previous difficulties were nothing to worry about and he had "high moral character." He did not make a list of finalists for the job
[...]

http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-north-...0,910976.story

Police Chief Randall Hoffman

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Despite this being a "local" case and knowing about it for days, I didn't post it because it is too run of the mill - that is sad.

[wishfulsinful]

"High moral character", my balls...Sick fucks in positions of power are the worst.

[Cholita]

He looks like a fucken ASSHOLE!

[CplPunishment]

Look at the weasel....Ugly is is Ugly does..

[Dakota Valkyrie]

South Central District Judge Tom Schneider said the one thing that stood out to him in the case of a former judge and police officer accused of molesting a young girl was the amount of grooming and planning that went into the crimes.

Randall Hoffman, 56, did not just make a one-time bad decision with a 17-year-old girl, Schneider said. Instead, he molested her from the time she was 12 or 13 until she was 17 and protested.

"It started out when she was very, very young," Schneider said. "It only stopped when the child screamed and you were discovered."

Schneider sentenced Hoffman on Monday morning to 50 years in prison with 30 years suspended and five years of supervised probation on a Class AA felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a minor. The judge also gave concurrent sentences of 20 years and five years in prison, respectively, for charges of Class A felony attempted gross sexual imposition and Class C felony corruption or solicitation of a minor.

Hoffman was a district court judge who resigned his judgeship and then later lost his law license following complaints about his conduct. At the time of his arrest in September 2010, he was the police chief in Elgin.
[...]

Assistant Attorney General Jon Byers said the victim wished that Hoffman would be sentenced to 25 years in prison. Hoffman should get credit for pleading guilty and sparing the victim from testifying at trial, Byers said. He said few of the sentencing factors that state law outlines for judges to consider went in Hoffman's favor; Hoffman was a police officer at the time and his actions could have been construed as an abuse of power, there were no grounds on which to excuse his behaviors, and the victim did not, and could not under state law, consent to the sexual acts.

Byers also said Hoffman should get no different treatment on the basis of having been a judge, attorney and police officer.
[...]

Hoffman must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he can be considered for release. He will receive credit for 13 months served in the Mercer County jail and at Alpha Human Services. Schneider waived court fees in the case, finding that Hoffman would be unlikely to pay them given his lengthy sentence. Hoffman will be required to register as a sex offender following his release.

http://bismarcktribune.com/news/loca...cc4c002e0.html

[HeatherHabilatory]

I've definitely bumped into this guy and he gave me the heebie-jeebies.