Former Visitation tennis coach pleads guilty to criminal sexual conduct with student

A former high school girls tennis coach pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to sexually assaulting an underage student.

Daniel Erik Hubbard Wilson, 27, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court to third-degree criminal sexual conduct for sexually assaulting a student he coached at Visitation High School in Mendota Heights.

The girl was 15 when sexual contact first occurred, and is now 17. Wilson had also served as her private coach.

While he will not be sentenced until April 16, Wilson has agreed to serve one year in jail and 15 years of probation, during which he must have no contact with the girl or her home, the Fred Wells Tennis and Education Center, Visitation High School or the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus.

If Wilson violates the terms of his probation, he could face six years in prison, which is a double upward departure.

Four criminal cases against Wilson were combined for Wednesday's plea hearing. He was charged in three cases in Ramsey County, and one case in Hennepin County.

A criminal complaint that originally charged him with first-degree criminal sexual conduct in addition to the third-degree count said that the sexual contact was consensual. Under Minnesota law, consent is not a viable defense in such cases.

As part of his plea deal, Wilson agreed to plead guilty in Hennepin County District Court to violating the restraining order when he showed up outside the girl's therapy session in Minneapolis on Nov. 26. All other cases and charges against Wilson will be dismissed.

"The family — and we — were interested in getting this resolved as quickly as possible, because it's been hard on the family," said Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Andrew R. K. Johnson, "and this is a reasonable way of accomplishing that."

The girl's parents and attorneys declined to comment. Wilson's family left the courthouse without commenting.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708