Kimball High School put head football coach and special education teacher Johnny Benson on administrative leave after a complaint had been filed on the morning of Oct. 10, the district says.

Benson, former Bulldog student and football player and grandson of legendary St. John’s Coach John Gagliardi, is being investigated surrounding a report of a possible sexual assault involving the coach and a player, according to a search warrant.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office said a search warrant was issued after they were called to St. Cloud Hospital Oct. 10 to investigate a “possible sexual assault” after a player’s family felt he “wasn’t himself.”

The warrant alleged the player recalls being treated by the coach for a lower back injury in the locker room after practice.

But the warrant goes on to say the player doesn’t remember if he “had fallen asleep or what had happened” for the next three hours when his mother found him alone in the locker room.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says they have an open investigation.

No arrests or charges have been filed in the case.

Benson, who starred for Dwight Lundeen and the Becker football program from 2007-2011, received a handful of offers from Division II universities, plus offers to walk on at Minnesota and Northern Illinois. 

Benson first became the head coach at Kimball High School in 2017, three years after graduating from St. John’s University, where he played for his grandfather. He studied global business and graduated with honors in 2014.