Valley News Live has uncovered new details behind the accusations against former West Fargo High School swim coach Ronald Hehn, who was taken into custody last week on a charge of gross sexual imposition with a victim under 15 years of age.
Hehn, who was fired as the swim coach of West Fargo High School in 2018 after posting videos online of swimmers appearing to struggle while swimming with weight belts, was giving swimming lessons in a private pool in an apartment complex.
Police say that the alleged victim told Hehn that her legs were sore from her previous training and that Hehn offered to massage them. The victim said that Hehn touched her butt and private parts during the massage, which lasted about 20 minutes.
After Hehn denied touching the victim or giving her a massage at all, police obtained surveillance video from the apartment complex that appeared to show him touching the victim inappropriately.
Hehn was arrested on January 30 and appeared in court on February 3. He has a preliminary hearing on March 19 with a Felony Disposal Conference scheduled for April 24.
Hehn’s previous record in Cass County includes driving without a license or insurance in 2010, resisting a police officer in 2010, and charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct in 2014 that were dismissed after completion of a 16 hour DUI seminar.
It seems as if this guy has some mental health issues. I hope he receives good therapeutic support to make the important changes he needs to make. IF he is found guilty or pleads to a charge, just throwing him in prison isn’t going to address his issues.
That said, if he is found gulity or pleads out, I hope he gets appropriate and full punishment under the laws. I hope the alleged victim gets good support and treatment for the trauma she faced.
I’ll also add, without knowing the full details, that him teaching swim lessons at an apartment pool (obviously indoors in Fargo) sounds incredibly sketchy. What level of swim lessons: competitive swimming, learn-to-swim, or lifeguard… Read more »
Mental health issues? Quick flip through his instagram and what comes up in the last two swimswam articles he just comes across as a thuggy a-hole.
He needs to be punished by the law and then stay far away from working with children and teenagers for the rest of his life.
I was trying to be nice. And, as I noted, he needs to be punished, IF found guilty.
He’s a predator.
I was trying to be nice. I didn’t need to or want to be nice.
Mental health issues don’t make people into predators. This line of thinking 1) lets people off the hook who should not be let off the hook and 2) stigmatizes people who do have mental health problems.
electric chair
What is his connection to Brett Hawke?
Is he close with Brett Hawke?
What does Brett have to do with this?
Ronald’s sister is Keri Hehn. Keri is Brett’s fiancee.
Brett also snuck Ronald on deck at Trials, I assume with Tim Hinchey’s blessing.
Our sport has always had certain magnets that attract the worst elements. Shawn Hutchison/the whole FAST disaster and all of the problems that came out of there comes to mind.
NOT NICE AT ALL
this is why prior misdemeanors need to be accessible to employers. My understanding is that resisting arrest (without violence) would not come up on an employer’s background check.
I wouldn’t hire anyone with that history.
Misdemeanors typically do show up on background checks. However, several states prohibit employers from relying solely on non-violent misdemeanors as a reason to not hire someone, so a lot of national employers limit their background checks to felonies and certain categories of misdemeanors. Most states do not have such prohibitions, but for most positions, automatically excluding non-violent misdemeanors would cut off too much of the worker pool. Even in states with bans, employers can use misdemeanors as part of an individualized evaluation, they just can’t auto-reject, so an employer could look at this guy’s record and pass on him. States with bans also have long lists of job-specific exceptions, for example people that work with children, the elderly, law enforcement,… Read more »