
(UPDATE) – Southern MN High School Coach Sentenced
(UPDATED) - Freeborn County Court initially posted that Polley had been committed to St. Cloud State Prison for 2-years. That has now been updated to indicate the judge ordered a stayed prison term.
Albert Lea, MN (KROC-AM News) - A former girl's basketball coach for Albert Lea High School has been sentenced for a sexual misconduct conviction.
Court records indicate 35-year-old Richard John Polley was charged as the result of an investigation launched by Albert Lea police in January 2022. The criminal complaint says officers were made aware of a situation involving a 16-year-old girl and Polley, who was employed as a school counselor and basketball coach at the community's high school.
The court document states that Polley was accused of having sexual relations with the juvenile. The charges say investigators learned the two had regular interactions associated with his job as a counselor and began communicating through Snapchat.
The criminal complaint alleged the teenage girl eventually accepted an invitation to visit Polley's home, where they engaged in sex.

He was originally charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, but later entered a guilty plea to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The plea agreement was worked out after the case went to trial last year and a mistrial was declared. .
Polley went before a Freeborn County Judge this afternoon and was given a stayed two-year prison sentence. He will also be required to complete five years on probation.
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Gallery Credit: Minnesota Now
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