Jury finds former RPD officer, coach guilty on all charges in sexual assault case

ROCHESTER — After nine hours of deliberation, the jury found a former Rochester police officer and John Marshall High School coach accused of sexually assaulting a minor guilty of all charges.

Timothy Robert Morgenstern, 24, of Apple Valley, was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving sexual contact, and using minors in a sexual performance, all felonies.

Morgenstern is accused of having a sexual encounter with a 16-year-old girl in 2022. The girl was on the speech team that Morgenstern coached. Morgenstern was also a former officer with the Rochester Police Department. He was terminated on Oct. 6, 2022.

The court reconvened at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 15, to hear the jury’s verdict.

Fillmore County Attorney Brett Corson, who was brought in as lead prosecutor for the case to avoid conflicts of interest, asked the judge to add a condition to Morgenstern’s release noting that he can not go within 300 feet of the alleged victim’s Rochester residence. Morgenstern was previously released on his own recognizance.

A sentencing hearing was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. April 16. The maximum penalty listed for each charge is: 15 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine for third-degree criminal sexual conduct, 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine for fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, and 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine for use of a minor in a sexual performance.

Throughout the six days of trial, the state called witnesses to the stand, including the alleged victim, the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office lead investigator, the co-coach of the John Marshall speech team and friends of the alleged victim. The defense called up one witness, Morgenstern’s father. Closing arguments concluded around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

During his closing argument, Corson pieced together a timeline with details provided in the witnesses’ testimonies. Corson argued that the relationship between the then-16-year-old and Morgenstern grew after she joined the speech team in February 2022. The alleged sexual encounter occurred on June 28, 2022.

“It was not a ‘he said, she said’ case,” Corson said during his closing argument.

Morgenstern’s attorney, Stephen Foerscht, argued that the sexual encounter did not happen because police found no evidence of text messages, phone calls, Snapchat messages, Instagram post comments or sexually explicit images and videos on both phones.

“The only evidence is evidence she created,” Foerscht argued during his closing argument.

Recap of the criminal complaint:

According to the criminal complaint, while working as a coach at John Marshall High School, Morgenstern groomed a 16-year-old female over the course of several months. Morgenstern’s overnight shift at RPD allowed him to talk with her late into the night when the pair started talking outside of school, the complaint said.

Morgenstern communicated with the juvenile via Snapchat and instructed her to delete their messages, the complaint said.

He is accused of sending and requesting lewd pictures of the juvenile.

Morgenstern also sexually assaulted the juvenile in his Rochester home in late June of 2022, the juvenile told law enforcement.

Law enforcement found evidence on electronic devices that corroborated what the juvenile reported.

When questioned by police, Morgenstern denied sexually assaulting the juvenile. He also said he notified the head coach of the high school about an email the juvenile is alleged to have sent him.

He was not on duty at the time of the alleged assault in his home.