Former Olmsted County deputy re-arrested on child pornography charges, allegations that he saved explicit photos of detention center detainees
(ABC 6 News) – A former Olmsted County sheriff’s deputy previously accused of attempting to solicit sex from children was re-arrested Wednesday on eight new charges–including possession of child pornography and saving nude photos of women booked into the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center.
Mathew Richard Adamson, 44, was currently held in the Mower County Jail. He appeared in Olmsted County Court on the new charges at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 7.
Capt. Tim Parkin with the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Dec. 7 that Adamson is no longer working for the OCSO.
According to court documents filed Wednesday, Dec. 6, Adamson faces three charges of felony possession of child pornography after law enforcement allegedly found sexual images of girls around 8-12 on Adamson’s personal devices.
Adamson also faces four charges of gross misdemeanor interference with privacy–observation device placed with expectation of privacy, after law enforcement allegedly found photos of three adult women, two children, and one female in her teens or early 20s that appear to have been taken using hidden cameras in various restrooms.
Finally, Adamson faces gross misdemeanor charge of misconduct of public officer–exceed authority after law enforcement allegedly located saved screenshots of Adult Detention Center detainees in various states of undress, which police claim Adamson saved to his personal devices.
These charges are all separate from Adamson’s original charges of felony solicitation of a child through electronic communication; engaging in prostitution with an individual under age 14; and electronic communication involving sexual conduct with a child, levied in early November after Adamson allegedly attempted to solicit sex from RPD and BCA officers pretending to be juvenile girls in a sting operation.
According to Adamson’s new criminal complaint, a woman allegedly contacted Rochester police shortly after Adamson’s release from Mower County Custody Nov. 6, and told them Adamson had told her he was going to destroy two external hard drives.
The woman told police she took the hard drives from Adamson, and placed them in a safe until RPD received a search warrant for the items.
According to court documents, detectives located several screen captures of three female detainees from a Department of Corrections camera located in the ADC — which Adamson was licensed to view, but not capture or save images from as part of his 18-plus year employment with the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office.
RPD alleged that the photos were taken while the women were being booked into the ADC, and featured the women in states of undress that exposed their chests and genitalia.
Court documents also allege that Adamson had saved a screen capture from his own body-worn camera footage, in which a fourth woman was seen flashing ADC staff.
Court documents further allege that detectives located “hundreds of videos and images from voyeur/hidden cameras placed in at least five separate and distinct bathroom locations with unverified timestamps between 2015-2019” on the hard drives.
The videos featured six female victims — three adults, one around age 10, one in her early teens, and one between age 16-20 — five of which had not been identified by RPD at the time of filing.
Furthermore, court documents claim the BCA told RPD on Nov. 21 that agents had reviewed Adamson’s cell phone and located multiple files that appeared to be Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) or child pornography, featuring children ages 8-12.
Court documents note that the search of Adamson’s phone is ongoing.
Adamson’s next court appearance is an omnibus hearing, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Jan. 24, 2024. He is scheduled to appear on both sets of charges.
Court documents note that, as in Adamson’s previous case, the Mower County Attorney’s Office will act as the prosecution.
Steele County judge Joseph A. Bueltel presided in Adamson’s previous bail condition hearing, in which Adamson was granted limited internet use and permission to visit with his own children.
The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement from Sheriff Kevin Torgerson Dec. 7:
“A few weeks ago, a criminal complaint was filed against former Olmsted County Adult
Detention Center employee Mathew Adamson. A second complaint was filed on
December 6, 2023.
The alleged conduct described in these criminal complaints is inconsistent with the
values of the Sheriff’s Office, the work of the individual Sheriff’s Office employees who
have dedicated their lives to public service, and the communities we have sworn to
serve.
The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office takes great pride in the trust the public places in us
to respect and support all people in our communities. We will continue to serve and
protect our communities to the best of our judgment and abilities.“