Todd Hodne

Todd Steven Hodne (April 23, 1959 – April 29, 2020) was a convicted rapist and murderer from Wantagh, Long Island, New York.

Hodne gained notoriety for a series of sexual assaults he committed while attending Penn State University, as well as in his hometown afterward; he committed at least twelve rapes and sexual assault attacks in 1978 and 1979. In 1987 Hodne killed a taxi driver during a robbery and was convicted of murder, spending the remainder of his life in prison. A lengthy ESPN.com article by Tom Junod and Paula Lavigne in 2022 led to national interest in Hodne's crimes and their connection to Penn State football, which had already been through another sexual assault controversy several years earlier involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky (who, coincidentally, was on the Penn State staff at the time of Hodne's assaults).

Background Hodne played linebacker on the football team at St. Dominic High School in Oyster Bay, New York. He was recruited to Penn State where, as a freshman, he played in at least seven games, including the 1977 Fiesta Bowl. In the summer before his sophomore year, he along with two friends from Long Island broke into and robbed a record store; after being arrested on burglary charges, he was suspended from the team for the season, though coach Joe Paterno said he could return to the team "if he has a good academic year and if he proves to us that [the robbery] was a mistake." He later recanted his self-defense claim at his one and only parole hearing on the murder conviction.

Death Hodne died on April 29, 2020, from cancer.