Ex-officer assigned to Park High sentenced for inappropriately touching girls

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
·4 min read

One of Adam’s Pelton’s victims sobbed before telling the court how she will “forever remember” the first time the former Cottage Grove police officer got “touchy” with her at Park High, where he was assigned as the school’s resource officer. She was 15 years old at the time.

“Adam Pelton will forever be the reason I hated high school,” she said Friday as other victims sat behind her in a Washington County courtroom either crying or fighting back tears.

She called him a “monster” and “pure evil” and said he “deserves everything that comes his way.”

Washington County District Judge Ellen Maas then gave Pelton, 42, a five-year prison sentence for sexually touching seven Park High students in 2018 and 2019. He is expected to serve three and a half years in prison and the rest on supervised release. He then will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

“You crossed the line with these young girls,” the judge said, noting how he was in a position of authority over them.

Criminal charges against Pelton were filed in Dakota County District Court in February 2020, accusing the then-cop of asking for hugs from seven students and then touching their buttocks. He also asked one of the girls to send nude photos of herself through Snapchat.

At the time of the incidents, three of the students were between the ages of 13 and 15 and four were 16 to 17 years of age, according to prosecutors.

In March, Pelton, of River Falls, Wis., pleaded guilty to three counts of felony second-degree criminal sexual conduct and four counts of felony fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. It was a straight plea, meaning it was made with no agreement with the prosecution about the terms of his sentence. A second-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction carries a maximum of 25 years in prison.

On Friday, before receiving his sentence, Pelton apologized.

“I’m sorry to everyone I hurt and everything you’ve gone through with your interactions with me,” he said, as his wife and other family members sat behind him in the courtroom. “I’m truly sorry.”

Pelton was a part-time firefighter/EMT and community service officer for Cottage Grove before being hired as a police officer in July 2009. Before being assigned as school resource officer at Park High in September 2018, he was the resource officer at Cottage Grove Middle School from January 2017 to June 2018.

CHARGES

Apple Valley police began investigating on Oct. 4, 2019, after reports were made by several Park High female students of inappropriate sexual contact initiated by Pelton. Investigators learned that seven students at the Cottage Grove school said he repeatedly initiated hugs with them during which he would touch their buttocks over their clothing.

One student reported that Pelton called her beautiful and told her if he were her age, he would date her. The student also reported receiving Snapchat messages from Pelton, who used the user name “OfficerPelton86.” In one of the messages, he made lunch plans with her over summer break.

Another student said that Pelton would rest his hand on her buttocks four to five days a week while receiving a hug. She also reported that in May 2019, when she was 17 years old, she received three requests over Snapchat from Pelton to send him nude photos, which the student never sent.

When questioned during the investigation, Pelton denied touching any student’s buttocks. He initially denied asking any student for nude pictures, but later acknowledged asking one student for such pictures after she graduated from high school “as a joke.”

Most of the conduct happened in Pelton’s private office, which did not have video surveillance. The investigation, however, did find video of Pelton initiating hugs with female students in school hallways.

PTSD DIAGNOSIS

Pelton’s attorney, Robert Jon Fowler, argued for 10 years of probation, coupled with three staggered one-year jail sentences, a ruling that would allow Pelton to continue to make use of his support network.

Fowler noted how Pelton served two active duty deployments overseas as a combat medic: a year in Kosovo and two years in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Around 2011, Pelton sought treatment for trauma he witnessed overseas and as an EMT and police officer, however, he was told that a diagnosis of PTSD would likely end his law enforcement career, according to Fowler.

“I can say with confidence that I have personally observed that PTSD severely affects judgment, personal boundaries, cognitive ability, self-awareness and may cause suicidal actions,” Fowler wrote in a June 13 memo to the court. “My client’s actions in this case exhibit all of these effects of PTSD and influenced the behavior he plead guilty to.”

Pelton was diagnosed with PTSD shortly after the criminal investigation began in 2019, according to Fowler’s memo.

Pelton’s victim who spoke at his sentencing scoffed at the suggestion of PTSD contributing to his behavior.

“I don’t think PTSD is an excuse for touching seven little girls,” she said.

After the sentence was handed down, the judge allowed Pelton to say goodbye to his family. Several of his victims cried as he hugged his family and was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

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