Naman Shrestha
When multiple cases of sexual assault against women surfaced at Penn State in 1978, the police launched a thorough investigation into them in an attempt to get to the bottom of the cases. They were shocked to learn that one of the University’s football stars — Todd Hodne — was linked to the rapes. The episode titled ‘When Rules Don’t Apply’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Murder Under the Friday Night Lights’ focuses on Todd and the multiple crimes he committed between 1977 and the late 1980s. With the help of exclusive interviews with one of his victims, the episode provides the viewers with a detailed account of the cases from different perspectives.
Todd Hodne Was a Young Football Prospect Who Lost His Way
Born on April 23, 1959, Todd Steven Hodne got into Pennsylvania State University in 1977 after his impressive performance as a linebacker on the football team at St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay, New York. In his first year, the young and talented football star got to show off his skills in at least seven games for the University. Before his sophomore year, he got into trouble with the law along with a couple of his friends from Long Island for breaking into a record store and robbing. Charged with burglary, Todd was also suspended from the football team for the season.
When the academic session of 1978 at Penn State began, so did the horrific crimes against the women on campus — starting with Betsy Sailor, who was reportedly sexually assaulted in her State College apartment on the evening of September 13. Betsy called the authorities and told them about what transpired. While inspecting the crime scene, the detectives came across a knife and an unscrewed lightbulb from her room’s lamp. While they were still looking for the perpetrator, the police received another call from a different woman who claimed that she was raped and had been receiving harassing phone calls from the attacker. Since the woman’s father worked in the telephone company, the call was traced back to a Penn State dormitory room shared by two football players — one of them being Todd Hodne.
Todd Hodne Committed Multiple Rapes After Getting Released on Bail
Given his rap sheet, Todd became a primary suspect in the case. When his fingerprints were compared to the ones found on the lightbulb found in Betsy’s apartment, they turned out to be a match. An arrest warrant was obtained for him, and in October 1978, he was finally taken into custody for sexually assaulting Betsy Sailor. Although he admitted that the knife found at her house was his, he maintained his innocence, claiming that it was stolen from him. A few months later, on March 1, 1979, he stood trial for the rape charges and was convicted of the same. However, instead of getting sentenced, he was allowed to be released on bail. Following his unexpected release, he returned to Long Island and stayed with his family.
Soon, on April 23, 1979, Todd reportedly sexually assaulted another woman in Oyster Bay Cove before attacking and raping 20-year-old Barbara Johnson on the evening of April 30 in Long Island. A month later, on May 31, Todd allegedly tried to sexually assault a 16-year-old girl in Baldwin, New York. As the teenager put up a tough fight, the attacker had no option but to flee the scene. However, he was caught running by her cop neighbor, who chased him down and captured him. 20-year-old Todd Hodne was arrested for being involved in five unsolved sexual assault cases in Nassau County, Long Island.
Todd Hodne Passed Away While Serving His Sentence
Following his arrest, Todd Hodne pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual abuse, and one count of attempted second-degree robbery, in September 1979. Consequently, he was sentenced to serve seven to 21 years behind bars for his crimes. However, after serving seven years, he was paroled in 1986. Again, he returned to his family in Wantagh, Long Island, and began working at his family’s home improvement company. He also started to see a therapist on a regular basis. Old habits die hard, and Todd proved that by violating several terms of his parole.
Not only did he lose his job, but he also got addicted to crack cocaine and stopped going to therapy. Things went from bad to worse on August 11, 1987, when he attacked a taxi driver near White Castle restaurant in Huntington, New York, in an attempt to rob him at knifepoint. Reportedly, he also strangled the driver, who later succumbed to his injuries. As a result, Todd Hodne was convicted of murdering the taxi driver and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the same. While serving his sentence behind bars, he died from cancer at the age of 61 in 2020.
On April 11, 2022, Pennsylvania State University released a statement about Todd and the horrific crimes he committed during his college days. It read, “We have the deepest sympathy and respect for each of Todd Hodne’s victims, some of whom attended the University and some of whom lived near his hometown. We know each has faced daily the pain he inflicted more than 40 years ago, and though he was expelled by the University, found guilty and incarcerated, each of his victims will continue to live with it for the rest of their lives. No one should have to live with such pain.”
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