A convicted sex offender and former Bloomington youth sports coach has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for molesting two girls at a hotel room where he was supposed to be baby-sitting last spring.

Randy Lee Ronning, 37, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Hennepin County District Judge Cara Lee Neville sentenced him Wednesday.

Ronning, of Bloomington, was charged in April 2009, after a witness saw him molest a girl at the Bloomington Days Inn. One girl told police he touched her inappropriately, and the other said that Ronning, her longtime baby sitter, had molested her since she was 8.

Ronning, who was convicted in 1992 of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, helped coach floor hockey in 2008 and softball in 2006 for the Bloomington Athletic Association. The teams were for girls ages 8 to 10.

ABBY SIMONS

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