Jury acquits ex-priest accused of sexual abuse in Hastings church

In one of the first criminal trials in Minnesota on decades-old allegations of sexual abuse by a priest, a Dakota County jury on Tuesday acquitted Francis Hoefgen of criminal sexual conduct.

Hoefgen, 64, is no longer a priest and lives in Columbia Heights. He had been accused of repeatedly abusing a boy who was a student at the parochial school at St. Boniface Church in Hastings between 1989 and 1992.

Jurors deliberated almost four hours before returning the not-guilty verdict on both counts of criminal sexual conduct. Both the accuser and the accused broke down sobbing.

http://www.startribune.com/jury-acquits-ex-hastings-priest-accused-of-sexual-abuse/305086471/