Ex-Elk River soccer coach shows anger at sentencing for assault on girl

Former Elk River soccer coach Eric Hawkins was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison following his January conviction for sexually assaulting a former youth player, whose graphic and emotional testimony brought jurors to tears.

Hawkins, 45, kicked a door as he was escorted from the courtroom by Sherburne County deputies, prosecutor Leah Emmans said. Hawkins declined Judge Thomas Hayes' offer to speak before the court. But as he exited the courtroom, Hawkins greeted his former attorney with a heated expletive, loudly enough for others to hear, said the victim's father.

Hawkins, a fixture for years in Elk River youth soccer and a former Rockford High School boys' soccer coach, was convicted of first- and second-degree sexual assault. He received the maximum sentence.

"We're relieved," the victim's father told the Star Tribune. "This man stole all of [the victim's] middle-school years."

Word of the sentencing spread quickly through the Elk River soccer community. One soccer coach who didn't want his name used talked about the "strife and upheaval" Hawkins had created. Another youth coach, Steve Zoubek, president of the Three Rivers Soccer Association, called Hawkins' case "a distraction" and said, "Now we can steer our focus back to the kids."

Through tears, and offering graphic detail that had many jurors squirming, the girl, now 18, told of sexual assaults and advances Hawkins made when they were alone in his car, traveling to and from practices and clinics. The assaults, which started when the girl was 14, took place in Hennepin and Sherburne counties.

Having a voice

According to court documents: In the winter of 2004-05, Hawkins, a longtime family friend, was taking the girl to a soccer clinic in Plymouth when he pulled over on a road unfamiliar to the girl. Hawkins insisted the girl remove her shirt and bra, then told her she needed to remove her pants. Hawkins touched the girl, even though she asked him to stop. He then threw $25 at her, court records say.

In the fall of 2005, Hawkins was driving the girl to a soccer game when he pulled his car over, unbuttoned his pants and exposed himself to her, court records say. Hawkins then forced the girl to touch him. She pulled away, telling him it was "gross."

The girl said she panicked while on the witness stand in January when Hawkins "smirked" during her testimony.

There were no such gestures by Hawkins on Friday, Emmans said. Courtroom observers included neighbors of the victim and Hawkins, members of Hawkins' family and his former youth players.

Hawkins left the proceedings defiantly, observers said. The victim's father said Hawkins swore at his former attorney.

Hawkins was removed from his job as Rockford High School boys soccer coach 18 months ago, after the allegations became public. He also worked three years ago as a volunteer with the boys' soccer team at Robbinsdale Cooper High School.

At the time of the assaults, he already had been banned by the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association (MYSA) for taunting and abusive sideline behavior during games. Hawkins agreed in Hennepin County District Court to pay $220,000 to the MYSA as part of a defamation suit settlement.

"He's like a poison," the victim's mother said when Hawkins was convicted. "His reign of terror is over."