# Francis Hoefgen *Priest charged in Dakota County, Minnesota, in May 2014 and acquitted by a jury on May 26, 2015.* Francis Hoefgen is a priest who was charged in Dakota County, [[Minnesota]], in May 2014.[^1] A Dakota County jury acquitted him on May 26, 2015.[^2] News sources compiled in the project's Dakota County record report that Hoefgen admitted in 1984 to abusing a teenager at a parish in [[Cold Spring]]. They report that he was then sent to a treatment facility in Maryland, and that in 1985 he was returned to active ministry at [[St. Elizabeth Ann Seton]] in [[Hastings]], Dakota County.[^1][^2] The same record states that the Dakota County allegations arose from that placement.[^1][^2] The record documents the 1985 placement, the 2014 charge and the 2015 acquittal. It does not establish who made the placement decision or why it was made.[^1][^2] ## Who Hoefgen was the defendant in a Dakota County criminal prosecution. He was charged in May 2014.[^1] The case ended in a jury acquittal on May 26, 2015.[^2] After the verdict, [[Backstrom]] was quoted as saying: "I said to this jury over and over again that there was no investigation."[^2] The record does not state which investigation the remark referred to. ## What According to the compiled news sources, Hoefgen admitted in 1984 to abusing a teenager at a Cold Spring parish.[^1][^2] He was sent to a Maryland treatment facility and was returned to active ministry in 1985.[^1][^2] The Dakota County charge came in May 2014, and the jury acquitted him in May 2015.[^1][^2] ## When - 1984: reported admission at the Cold Spring parish, followed by placement at a Maryland treatment facility.[^1][^2] - 1985: returned to active ministry at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings.[^1][^2] - May 2014: charged in Dakota County.[^1] - May 26, 2015: acquitted by a Dakota County jury.[^2] ## Where - Cold Spring, the parish where the 1984 admission concerned events.[^1][^2] - Maryland, the location of the treatment facility.[^1][^2] - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings, Dakota County, the 1985 assignment.[^1][^2] - Dakota County, where the case was charged and tried.[^1][^2] ## In the at-issue record The project's Dakota County record files this item under its section *VII. The Founding Instruments — Still on the Books*. It sets two dated facts side by side: - the 1985 return to active ministry in Hastings, which followed the reported 1984 admission; and - the May 26, 2015 acquittal, after which Backstrom was quoted on the absence of an investigation.[^1][^2] The record shows both facts. It does not resolve the reasons for the placement or for the verdict. The item lists as its anchor document a March 2026 White House presidential action establishing a task force to eliminate fraud.[^3] The record does not state any connection between that document and the Hoefgen case beyond this pairing. ## Notes [^1]: CBS News Minnesota, *Ex-Hastings priest charged* (2014) — reports the May 2014 Dakota County charge; listed in the project's validated Dakota record (row D24) and as a source for the at-issue item AI-Dakota-098. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/ex-hastings-priest-charged-with-assaulting-boy/ [^2]: BishopAccountability.org, archived news report (Unze), *Jury finds* (May 26, 2015) — reports the Dakota County jury acquittal of May 26, 2015 and the post-verdict Backstrom quotation; listed in the project's validated Dakota record (row D24) and as a source for the at-issue item AI-Dakota-098. https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2015/05_06/2015_05_26_Unze_JuryFinds.htm [^3]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — the presidential action listed as the anchor document for at-issue item AI-Dakota-098. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/