Ex-ALHS counselor and coach’s sexual conduct trial moved to December

(ABC 6 News) – A former Albert Lea high school counselor and coach accused of criminal sexual conduct with a student will now stand trial in December, according to court documents.

Richard John Polley faces a single charge of 3rd-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under age 18, with whom he had an occupational relationship.

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He was originally scheduled for a pretrial Thursday, Sept. 29.

His new pretrial date is Dec. 2, with a jury trial scheduled for Dec. 12, 2022.

On Thursday, Polley’s defense filed a motion to allow Polley to conduct weekly meetings with his pretrial officer by phone, as his new job with the United States Postal Service prevented him from meeting during business hours.

Polley was arrested Jan. 13, 2022, after Albert Lea police learned that he had engaged in sexual intercourse with the teenager over the preceding weekend.

He was fired from the school about a week later.

RELATED: ALHS counselor, girls’ basketball coach fired following sexual conduct charges – ABC 6 News – kaaltv.com

On January 8, the complaint states the student went to Polley’s house two times, once around 10:00 p.m. and then again about an hour later. The complaint said Polley was asleep the second time the student went to his house and she had woken him up. It was during this visit the two allegedly had intercourse.