Aaron Hjermstad sentenced to life for abusing over 120 children

Aaron Hjermstad, a former Minnesota teacher and basketball coach, was sentenced to life in prison following an investigation into the sexual abuse of more than 120 young boys in the Twin Cities area.

Hjermstad, who worked at Excell Academy, Best Academy, and volunteered at the non-profit Hospitality House, was initially convicted in 2021 for the abuse of four boys. However, a routine traffic stop in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in November 2021 revealed a massive trove of digital evidence, including laptops and hard drives, that uncovered a much larger pattern of crime.

Special Agent Janese Brown of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension noted that the crimes were “calculated and planned out,” with investigators finding a list of victims identified by their initials. The investigation revealed that the abuse spanned more than a decade.