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Charges: Olmsted County jail corporal solicited 2 people for sex he believed were young teens

He connected online with law enforcement officers working undercover and was arrested when he arranged to meet one of them, the charges read.

By Paul Walsh

November 7, 2023 at 4:18PM

A detention corporal at the Olmsted County jail solicited sex from two people he believed were girls in their early teens but turned out to be undercover law enforcement officers, according to charges.

Mathew R. Adamson, 44, of Rochester was charged in Olmsted County District Court last week with three felony counts of soliciting a child for sex.

Adamson was booked into the jail Thursday in neighboring Mower County out of concern for his safety, said Sheriff's Capt. Tim Parkin. Adamson is due in court on Nov. 14. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

Mathew Adamson (Olmsted County Sheriff's Office/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Adamson has been with the Sheriff's Office for 18 years.

"Immediately upon the Sheriff's Office learning of the investigation relating to Mr. Adamson, he was placed on administrative leave per our policy," Parkin said.

According to the criminal complaint:

An undercover Rochester police detective received an online chat message from Adamson on Nov. 1.

After being told he was communicating with a 13-year-old girl, Adamson offered alcohol in exchange for various sex acts.

While still chatting with the undercover detective, Adamson started a second online conversation with a state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent posing as a 14-year-old girl. During this chat, he sent a photo of his face and his work boots with what appeared to be an Olmsted County courtroom in the background. He also inquired about meeting in person.

Adamson arranged a meeting on Nov. 2 with the person he thought was a 13-year-old girl. He drove from work to the meetup location and "called out to the decoy using [the undercover detective's] online persona name," the charges read. Officers then arrested him.