Former deputy facing 15-year federal sentence to stand trial for alleged Olmsted sex crimes
(ABC 6 News) – A former Olmsted County Sheriff’s deputy who pleaded guilty to one federal producing or attempting to produce child pornography charges will stand trial on similar, local charges in 2025.
Mathew Adamson was originally charged with multiple Olmsted County sex crimes in November and December of 2023: including child solicitation, possession of child pornography, and interference with privacy after allegedly saving explicit photos of detainees at the jail.
Adamson, a former jail staffer at the Adult Detention Center, saw his local cases put on hold while the State of Minnesota pursued federal charges.
As of Thursday, Sept. 5, Adam is scheduled to appear in Olmsted County Court for pretrial hearings March 19, 2025, followed by jury trials beginning April 7.
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(ABC 6 News) – A former Olmsted County Sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty to one of three production of child pornography charges in federal court Thursday, Aug. 29.
Mathew Adamson faces a mandatory minimum 15-year sentence for the single charge of producing or attempting to produce child pornography.
However, court documents filed Thursday evening state that Adamson can expect a 19-to-24-year sentence based on the severity of his particular case.
The federal maximum for the charge is 365 months, or just over 30 years, according to court documents.
However, Adamson’s plea agreement caps his sentence at 293 months.
Adamson’s sentencing had not been scheduled Thursday evening.
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Federal plea deal
Adamson originally faced five federal charges related to producing CSAM, or Child Sexual Abuse Materials, featuring 12-to-13-year-old girls: three charges of production or attempted production of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and a count of coercion and enticement.
Adamson pleaded guilty to the third count of production of child pornography in exchange for the dismissal of the other federal charges.
In Adamson’s plea agreement, he admitted to contacting a 12-year-old (Minor C) over the app Whisper, while pretending to be a “Nate” and used that persona to convince the child to send him lewd photos.
On July 10, 2023, Adamson coerced the child to meet with him for sexual activity, which he recorded, according to the plea agreement.
Adamson’s plea agreement also indicated that he had used the Whisper app to solicit multiple minors to engage in sex acts, and had also installed hidden cameras to record minors undressing and showering.
While the mandatory minimum sentence for production or attempted production of child pornography is 15 years in Minnesota, Adamson’s baseline was raised because Minor C was 12 years old, and he obscured his own identity to solicit the child.
Olmsted County child sex crime cases
Adamson, a former deputy working at the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center, was originally charged with multiple child sex crimes locally in November and December of 2023.
Altogether, Adamson faces 11 charges in Olmsted County, including child solicitation, possession of child pornography, and interference with privacy after allegedly saving explicit photos of detainees at the jail.
As of Thursday, Aug. 29, new hearings had not been set in Olmsted County.