Former Deer River Assistant Coach Found Guilty of Rape

A former Deer River High School assistant football coach has been found guilty of three counts of criminal sexual conduct for sexually assaulting a woman at her apartment in September of 2022.

27-year-old Ethan Hardy was still coaching at Deer River, but when the investigation into the case started, he then left the team.

On Friday, an Itasca County jury found Hardy guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the first, third, and fifth degrees. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17.

The victim in the case told investigators that she was drinking alcohol with Hardy when he put something in her mouth that made her black out. Court documents say Hardy then raped her as she went in and out of consciousness.