Benjamin Joseph Hoffman (West Des Moine, Iowa), 23, 7th-grade language arts teacher at Urbandale Middle School, Urbandale Community School District, Urbandale, Iowa, "11 counts of sex abuse, among other charges" Formerly at student teacher at: Norwalk Middle School, Norwalk Community Schools, Norwalk, Iowa WOI: UPDATE: Middle School Teacher Arrested for Sex Abuse (July 31 2013) Police allege that [Benjamin Joseph] Hoffman had sexual contact with a 13-year-old student from Urbandale and a 14-year-old from Norwalk, where he student taught. The alleged acts happened between May and July at Hoffman's West Des Moines apartment. Tags:
NBC News: SEXUAL ABUSE: Urbandale Teacher Arrested (July 31 2013) Investigators say [Benjamin Joseph] Hoffman sexually abused a 13-year-old Urbandale Middle School student and a former, 14-year-old student at Norwalk Middle School, where Hoffman served as a student teacher. Police say the abuse to the two girls took place between May and July of this year at Hoffman’s West Des Moines apartment. Hoffman was also arrested July 15th and charged with possession of meth and marijuana and possession with intent to deliver.
West Des Moines Patch: UPDATE: More Details on Teacher's Alleged Sex Abuse with Students (Aug 1 2013) A complaint in Dallas County District Court alleges that an Urbandale Middle School teacher [Benjamin Joseph Hoffman] had sex with a 13-year-old student on three occasions and on three occasions with a 14-year-old former student ... He was charged with 11 counts of sex abuse, one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor. The sex acts occurred on June 3, June 10, July 3.
Citizen-Times: Urbandale teacher charged with sexually abusing 2 students: Benjamin Hoffman allegedly had sexual contact with 2 students (Aug 1 2013) According to West Des Moines police, [Benjamin Joseph] Hoffman reportedly had sexual contact with a 13-year-old while the child was his student at Urbandale Middle School and a 14-year-old former student Hoffman had in class while student teaching at Norwalk Middle School. The contact reportedly occurred between May and July at the West Des Moines apartment where Hoffman was living.
Des Moines Register: Urbandale teacher charged with sexually abusing two students (July 31 2013) Benjamin Joseph Hoffman, 23, was charged with 11 counts of third degree sexual abuse, one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor. According to West Des Moines police, Hoffman reportedly had sexual contact with a 13-year-old while the child was his student at Urbandale Middle School and a 14-year-old former student Hoffman had in class while student teaching at Norwalk Middle School. The contact reportedly occurred between May and July at the apartment where Hoffman was living at that time. Trib Town: Iowa teacher charged in student sex case (Aug 1 2013) Digital Journal: Iowa middle school teacher accused of sexually abusing 2 students (Aug 2 2013)
Des Moines Register: New details allege teacher had sex with two students (Aug 1 2013) According to documents filed at Dallas County District Court, Hoffman is alleged to have had sexual intercourse and other inappropriate sexual contact with the teenagers at this West Des Moines residence. The incidents occurred at least four times between June and July. Law enforcement officials have said that the 13-year-old was a student of Hoffman’s at Urbandale Middle School; Hoffman was a student teacher at Norwalk Middle School, where he met the 14-year-old. The first contact reportedly occurred on June 3, when Hoffman is accused of performing two different sex acts with the 13-year-old and three different sex acts with the 14-year-old. Hoffman was also accused of sexual exploitation by a school employee toward the 13-year-old and providing alcohol to both victims on June 3. Hoffman was accused of committing sexual abuse toward the 14-year-old on June 10 and July 6, the complaint said. He allegedly performed three different sex acts with the child on each of those occasions.
WHO TV: SEXUAL ABUSE: Urbandale Teacher Arrested (July 31 2013) Benjamin Hoffman, 23, is charged with 11-counts of sex abuse, one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor. Investigators say Hoffman sexually abused a 13-year-old Urbandale Middle School student and a former, 14-year-old student at Norwalk Middle School, where Hoffman served as a student teacher. Police say the abuse to the two girls took place between May and July of this year at Hoffman’s West Des Moines apartment. Hoffman was also arrested July 15th and charged with possession of meth and marijuana and possession with intent to deliver.
Indy Star: Accused Urbandale teacher allegedly had sex with girls at his home (Aug 2 2013) According to the police report and other court filings: [Benjamin Joseph]Hoffman in May began sending text messages to the 13-year-old girl, who was in his language arts class at Urbandale Middle School. The victim told police that Hoffman texted her regarding topics like “cutting” and what it was like when he was a teenager. In late May or early June, the girl went to Hoffman’s residence in West Des Moines, where he gave her three alcoholic beverages. The teen told police she asked for the alcohol. She said the two had consensual intercourse. The teen, who went to the police station with her parents, said that she “hung out with” Hoffman on four to five other occasions. The teen told police that her friend, a 14-year-old from Norwalk, also had been with Hoffman. Police contacted the 14-year-old, who said she and Hoffman had had sex on at least three different days. Hoffman met the girl when he taught at a Norwalk school. According to documents filed at Dallas County District Court, Hoffman is alleged to have had sexual intercourse and other inappropriate sexual contact with the teenagers at least four times between June and July.
Good article, especially if you're a parent with kids you should click on the link & read all of it: WOI: Psychologist Breaks Down Hoffman Case (Aug 2 2013) "A person at that age doesn't even know who they really are yet, so they're pretty much an open book. Adults can manipulate them quite easily," Grove said.Grove calls the time leading up to when police say Hoffman took each girl to his apartment to have sex with them as grooming. Hoffman spent time and energy making them trust him, preparing these girls to participate in something they might not have otherwise done. In cases similar to this one, when an adult targets a minor victim, Grove said there's only one thought in the predator's mind. "How can I groom these children into trusting me enough to get what I want?" Grove said.
Urbandale Patch: Victim Says Sex with Teacher was Consensual (Aug 1 2013) The girl told West Des Moines Police Officer Curtis Russell, who arrested [Benjamin Joseph] Hoffman Wednesday, that her teacher began texting her in May “regarding such things as ‘cutting’ and how things were when he was a teenager,” according to the report. Later that month or in early June, he reportedly picked her up and took her to his home in West Des Moines and served her approximately three mixed drinks. The victim “stated that she was drunk, but … still knew what was going on,” Russell wrote. According to the report, she asked for the alcohol and Hoffman never forced her to drink. She told police she “hung out” with her teacher “four or five times” since the initial contact and her kissed her on occasion, sometimes at his apartment, but also at Saylorville Lake. Sometimes, they just talked, according to the report.The victim’s mother said that on July 5, she received a call from a parent of a Norwalk 14-year-old her daughter was staying with and both had “snuck out.” When the victim’s mother asked where the girls were, she learned that Hoffman had picked them up and taken them to his West Des Moines apartment, the report said. “Evidently, Hoffman used to substitute teach down in Norwalk and (the other teenager) has had sex with him as well,” Russell wrote in the report.
Johnston-IA Patch: Weird Iowa: Teacher Charged with Sexual Abuse, Walmart Worker Arrested, and Walmart Employees Mistakenly Help Alleged Thief (Aug 2 2013) An Urbandale Middle School teacher had sex with a 13-year-old student on three occasions and on three occasions with a 14-year-old former student, according to West Des Moines police. Benjamin Joseph Hoffman, 23, of West Des Moines, faces 11 charges of sex abuse, one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor. The sex acts occurred on June 3, June 10, July 3.
KCCI: Investigators: Teacher groomed girls to have sex with them (Aug 2 2013) Investigators say 23-year-old Benjamin Hoffman schemed to build a relationship with two girls, ages 13 and 14, in order to have sex with them. Police said the charges stem from Hoffman's sexual contact with a 13-year-old child who at the time was a current student at Urbandale Middle School and a 14-year-old former student of Hoffman's when he was a student teacher at the Norwalk Middle School.Police said the alleged acts occurred from May of 2013 to July of 2013 at the West Des Moines apartment where Hoffman was living at the time. A police report states that the girl reported that during one visit to Hoffman's home, he give her three mixed drinks of alcohol and pop. The girl said she asked for the alcohol and was never forced to drink it. The girl told police that they had consensual sex. A friend of the girl also reported to police that she had had sex with Hoffman.
