Pre-arrest interview in child porn case questioned

By Jeff Bunn
Capital Journal staff
Published/Last Modified on Friday, Jan 29, 2010 - 01:06:23 am CST

PIERRE — A pre-arrest interview is at issue in a state case against a Fort Pierre man charged with 26 counts of sexual crimes involving children including rape, sexual contact and making child pornography.

Bruce Hofer, 49, appeared in court Thursday as attorneys argued about suppression of evidence, particularly an interview of Hofer in September before his arrest.

The issue identified by Brad Schreiber, Hofer’s attorney, was the state Division of Criminal Investigation’s interrogating Hofer after he admitted to drinking earlier in the night, before he was awakened around 1 a.m. for questioning.

Advertisement


According to the testimony of Jason Baldwin, the lead investigator, Hofer mentioned being at a casino before the 1 a.m. questioning and after he was taken to the Stanley County courthouse his blood alcohol content was .03 percent and later .015.

Baldwin said the early morning arrival at Hofer’s home was due to the nature of the charges he faces and the fact that Baldwin suspected Hofer knew an investigation had begun.

Baldwin said Hofer waived his rights and showed signs of understanding what was happening.

“I knew he had alcohol in his system,” Baldwin said. “He was not under the influence.”

The defense will have two weeks to prepare a brief and the state will have 10 days to respond.

A status date was set for 10 a.m. on Feb. 24.

According to Thursday’s court proceeding, in the interview Hofer initially denied any inappropriate contact with the alleged victims but later admited to a sexual relationship with one of three alleged victims.

The defense also requested a clarification on charges of possession of child pornography, particularly the identification of ages of the people in the videos allegedly found in Hofer’s home.

Hofer is charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of manufacturing child pornography.

Stanley County State’s Attorney Tom Maher implied the charges of making child porn are clear enough as one video allegedly shows two of the alleged victims touching each other and one of Hofer with one of the three boys.

Schreiber said part of Hofer’s defense would involve Hofer’s health. He said Hofer was on high blood pressure and cholesterol medication when he was arrested and cannot gain an erection.

WARNING:

Comments are not verified for accuracy nor have we verified the identity of any person’s name accompanying a comment, so please consider this as you weigh any statements made or opinions offered.


NOTE:

• Comments will not be posted if submitted in all caps, or all lower case, or do not show a reasonable attempt to follow basic rules of grammar and punctuation, nor will text-message like abbreviations be accepted, like ur for your.
• Postings must stay on the issues related to the thread and not veer off into personal comments about others. The tone of the post must be civil. For example, you can say someone’s ideas are stupid but you cannot say another poster is stupid.
• Postings must deal with matters of public concern.




Comments

20 comment(s)

    Parent wrote on Mar 4, 2010 7:44 AM:

    " To Ft. Pierre resident: You hit the nail right on the head.....
    You are 100% correct, this SICK PERVERT belongs behind bars..You would think that the Judicial System would think of the victims and lock up this sick CREEP!!! "

    fort pierre resident wrote on Mar 3, 2010 10:47 AM:

    " This whole ordeal makes me sick!! I know these children and they are scared all the time looking over their shoulders to see if they see this monster. Saying oh there is his pick up and then want to get inside. Why should these children have to be scared to be outside! WHY! because this MONSTER is out running around FREE!! Just lurking for other young children. PUT him AWAY!! "

    Parent wrote on Feb 19, 2010 7:32 AM:

    " I don't understand what is taking so long in this case, Hofer already admitted he was guilty. Now he is trying to take back his statement......This whole thing just makes me sick that a MONSTER like Hofer is still running around free as a bird. "

    Resident wrote on Feb 16, 2010 7:18 AM:

    " to OLD ONE. I know for a FACT that he is guilty, I know more than you do about this case. And the only person who would stick up for a PEDOPHILE is another PEDOPHILE!!!! "

    WTH wrote on Feb 13, 2010 11:13 AM:

    " Unfortunately, many who have been in trouble with the law would all say it is "guilty until proven innocent". In this case, I am saddened to see the system failing. Even with a confession, a predator is allowed to be on the streets for possibly a few years until the "best" plea deal can be reached. What would happen if this predator strikes again in the meantime? I'm sorry, but this i a dangerous crime against children and something needs to be done now! "

    old one wrote on Feb 12, 2010 10:46 PM:

    " Don't know much about the situation but I do believe that a person is innocent until proven guilty or has that law changed? "

    Resident wrote on Feb 9, 2010 7:43 PM:

    " Give it up Hofer. Let your family and friends get back to their lives. After the Evidence Hearing there is no doubt in anyones mind that you are guility of some of the charges - none of which are good. Plea bargain and get it over. "

    Past Resident Monty wrote on Feb 8, 2010 3:50 PM:

    " Why put time and money in the trash. Just take him out to pig farm and fix the problem. "

    Resident wrote on Feb 8, 2010 7:20 AM:

    " Lock up this CREEP for the rest of his life.
    I can't believe that he is still running around like a free person. "

    ACH wrote on Feb 5, 2010 7:35 PM:

    " I would like to think that this man will be in prison for the rest of his life. Too many people get away with crimes like these. "

    ft pierre resident wrote on Feb 4, 2010 8:41 AM:

    " His health didn't seem to deter him from molesting these children and at least one for more than one year, so why should it stop him from being convicted!! He is a sick sick human. And yes if he is taking this meds he should not have been drinking. He should be in jail right now where he belongs "

    Concerned wrote on Feb 4, 2010 7:32 AM:

    " I hope the Judge uses common sense and allowes his testimony admitting the SICK things he has done to little boys in court..Hofer was not intoxicated and he knows he is going down...This PEDOPHILE should be behind bars during this whole court proceedings. "

    ME wrote on Feb 3, 2010 10:09 PM:

    " He's just a monster full of excuses---he's grasping at straws. How sad for the children, may God be with them. "

    Parent wrote on Feb 3, 2010 7:42 AM:

    " To Laurie: I couldn't of said it better.
    Now he uses the excuse of his health.
    He knows he is going up the river without a paddle so now his Attorney is crasping at nothing...Pathetic.....This sick MONSTER belongs behind bars. "

    Laurie Bonhorst wrote on Feb 2, 2010 1:05 PM:

    " A pedophile's worst weapon is the mind. They use their mind to plan ways of manipulating and preying on their victims. If he was so worried about his health, he wouldn't be drinking alcohol while on his medication! I pray for a speedy trial so that the victims may get on with their lives. His attorney's defense is as limp as Mr. Hofer's ----! "

    RRRRR wrote on Jan 29, 2010 2:09 PM:

    " Who cares if he can get an erection or not (not a major health concern in my eyes)....he had a sexual relationship with a young child - THAT IS WRONG!!!!!! He is sick! "

    what a joke wrote on Jan 29, 2010 1:25 PM:

    " a lot of this whole issue is a joke. First of all, he should be in jail during tihs whole process instead of out (and even driving around town - seen him several times...alone.). Second, if he was being questioned, was he not read his rights, therefore, could have stopped all answers until his attorney was present?? If so, he waived them. As for the PBT results, .03 or .015 is not intoxicated - not legally nor for questioning, so the interview should NOT be dismissed. Just time for Jail!!! "

    mom wrote on Jan 29, 2010 1:14 PM:

    " TMI !!!! but funny. Also could prove his sick need for kiddie p*rn. More work needs more extreme...hope he won't get away with such a horrible crime because of his claim that he was too drunk to be questioned.

    "Schreiber said part of Hofer’s defense would involve Hofer’s health. He said Hofer was on high blood pressure and cholesterol medication when he was arrested and cannot gain an erection." "

    fort pierre resident wrote on Jan 29, 2010 10:25 AM:

    " This is ludicris, I can not believe Bruce is making these poor kids go through all this when he knows he is guilty of it all. He says he can not get an erection what stopped him from using some other way in raping these children. I can not believe that these medications would stop him from getting and erection to begin with. He needs to be put away for life and let these kids get on with theres. "

    Resident wrote on Jan 29, 2010 7:08 AM:

    " Hofer, give it up, I know alot of people on the same medication and they get an erection. Man up and admit that you are a sick pervert who needs locked away for the rest of your sick life. "

WRITE A COMMENT

Use the form below to post a brief comment to this story, or respond to other readers. Please use the word count tool to assist you in keeping your remarks to 100 words or fewer.

Comments must be approved by an editor before appearing on the Web site. Editors review submitted comments periodically during the day for offensive or off-topic content before posting. Your thoughtful contribution to the online discussion is appreciated.

(optional)
Current Word Count:
   


Marketplace

Classifieds




Contact Us

Call 605-224-7301

Staff Directory