MOORHEAD – Police are investigating two minor league hockey players from Nebraska for allegedly circulating a video that shows one of the players having sex with a 15-year-old Moorhead girl when the team was in town to play the Fargo Force in February.
Court documents filed in the investigation say two 18-year-old players for the Lincoln Stars allegedly had sex with the girl at the Days Inn in Moorhead on Feb. 15, and took photos and video recordings during sexual acts with the girl.
A 10-second clip of one of the players having sex with the girl was distributed among Stars players and to other teams in the United States Hockey League, including the team in Waterloo, Iowa, according to a search warrant affidavit.
The girl planned to hang out with one of the players at the hotel after the game and told police the sex was consensual, but she was unaware the video was being recorded, according to the affidavit.
After learning about the video circulating among USHL teams, the girl tried to get the players to delete it. A few days later, she told one of the two players that the video was child pornography and sent him a copy of the North Dakota statute.
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In interviews with Moorhead police, one of the players said no pictures or videos were taken of the girl without her consent. The other player admitted to watching the video of himself having sex with the girl and also sending it to a 17-year-old.
Moorhead police Lt. Tory Jacobson said the investigation is ongoing. He said Moorhead police took a complaint from a parent on Feb. 27 in reference to an adult being involved with their juvenile daughter in a sexual contact investigation.
The cellphones of both players have been seized as part of the investigation.
Though the victim was 15 at the time of the incident, under the age of consent in Minnesota, state law outlines that criminal sexual conduct occurs if the perpetrator is more than 48 months older than the victim.
Depictions of minors under the age of 18 engaging in sexual activity are prohibited in Minnesota.
No charges have been filed.
Jon Hull, president of hockey operations and general manager for the Lincoln Stars, said it is too early in the investigation for the team to comment.
Hull said team officials are aware two players are being investigated, and that it’s not really a “team issue” at this point.
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If charges are filed, he said the team would “act accordingly.”
