Former Olmsted County Detention Deputy Pleads Not Guilty

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Rochester, Mn (KROC-AM News) - A former Olmsted County Detention Deputy has entered not-guilty pleas to six felony charges and five gross misdemeanors.

45-year-old Mathew Adamson entered the pleas during a late afternoon court hearing on Wednesday during which he demanded a jury trial, which has yet to be scheduled. The list of charges against him stems from two connected investigations.

Adamson was charged last November with felony charges of hiring an individual believed to be under the age of 14 for prostitution, electronically soliciting a person believed to be a child to engage in sexual conduct, and engaging in electronic communication relating or describing sexual conduct with a child. The charges stem from an undercover sting operation conducted by Rochester police.

According to the criminal complaint, Adamson was accused of attempting to solicit sexual acts from a girl he believed was 13 years old. The court document says the girl was actually an undercover officer and Adamson was arrested after he arrived at an agreed-upon meeting place and called out the girl's name.

The second case alleges Adamson recorded and saved videos of several female detainees changing clothing in the changing room at the Olmsted County Jail. The charges say the videos were found on two external hard drives that were seized at his home when investigators executed a search warrant a few days after his arraignment in the first case.

According to the criminal complaint, investigators were informed that Adamson, who was released from custody after his arraignment, was attempting to destroy the hard drives. The court document indicates that Adamson was allowed to access a camera installed in the changing room at the jail as part of his duties, but he was prohibited from recording screenshots and storing the images on a personal device.

The charges also allege the hard drives seized from Adamson's residence contained images from at least five cameras that appeared to have been hidden in "separate and distinct bathroom locations" and showed six females undressing to enter a shower. The complaint says three of the victims are adult women and three others appeared to be girls ranging in age from 10 to 20 years old.

In that case, he faces three counts of felony possession of child pornography, four gross misdemeanor counts of interfering with privacy, and a charge of misconduct by a public official.

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