Ronald Hehn (Cass County Jail photo)
FARGO (KFGO) – A felony charge against a former West Fargo swim coach has been dismissed, and a trial scheduled to begin on Feb. 3 has been canceled.
Ronald Hehn, Jr. was charged with gross sexual imposition in February 2025.
Court documents alleged Hehn provided private swim lessons to about 20 people at the pool in his apartment complex.
The complaint says a girl under the age of 15 that Hehn was coaching complained of soreness in her legs. Police say Hehn massaged the girl’s legs, and then massaged her buttocks and vagina. The alleged 20-minute incident was captured on security camera footage.
When contacted by investigators, Hehn denied any inappropriate contact.
The charge carried a minimum of 5 years in prison, 5 years of supervised probation and sex offender registration.
On Monday, Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Van Horn filed a motion in East Central District court to dismiss the case. He said he wasn’t able to prepare for trial due to the inability to meet with the victim and the victim’s family.
Court records show the alleged victim’s mother wrote a letter to the attorney on Jan. 30 indicating they would not be present for trial.
Van Horn said “pushing something to a trial with a little bit of uncertainty as to who would show up or be there to testify led us to this route.”
Hehn was fired as the head swim coach of the West Fargo High School girls’ swim team in 2018 after posting a video of a swimmer wearing a weighted belt in the water and appearing to struggle, which was considered unsafe.
Hehn was also the head coach of the Concordia Cobbers women’s swim team from 2013 to 2014. He swam in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2008 and 2012.
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