Six felony theft by swindle charges were dismissed last week against Kurt B. Virgin, a former basketball and soccer coach at Eagan High School, the Dakota County attorney's office said.

Virgin, 61, of Eagan, had been accused of stealing more than $29,000 from sports camps and fundraisers he oversaw for the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District between April 2009 and December 2011.

According to the charges, Virgin had two choices when he set up the youth basketball and soccer camps: Run them independently and pay to use the district's facilities or run them in cooperation with the district with facilities fees waived and all money going to the school's general fund.

Virgin didn't pick one or the other and allegedly asked some camp participants to pay him and others to write checks to the school district, the charges said. He also was accused of keeping more than half of the proceeds from cookie-dough and discount-booklet sales by the soccer and basketball teams.

Much of the evidence in the police investigation and subsequent charges, however, stemmed from an interview Virgin was required to submit to by the school district as a condition of his ongoing employment. That interview was considered a "compelled statement that could not be used by police during their investigation or in any future prosecution," County Attorney James Backstrom said.

"Sometimes inadvertent mistakes are made during the course of a criminal investigation, particularly when it involves internal statements being taken by an employer who does not have knowledge of the criminal justice system which are later shared with the police," Backstrom said. "Unfortunately the circumstances surrounding his interview were not given to police or our office until after the prosecution was initiated."

Virgin did not return a phone call seeking comment on Thursday.

Virgin, who was placed on leave by the school district in November 2011, retired in January 2012. He pleaded guilty last Friday to a misdemeanor violation related to his failure to obtain the necessary permits for the gym time the camps required. District Judge Thomas Pugh sentenced him to a year on probation and a $300 fine.

Pat Pheifer • 952-746-3284