Former MN Cop, School Guard Admits To Touching Students: Reports

COTTAGE GROVE, MN — A former Cottage Grove cop and security officer at Park High School admitted in court Monday that he touched multiple female students and asked one teen for nude pictures on multiple occasions, according to reports.

Adam Pelton, 42, of River Falls, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to three charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and four charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, the Star Tribune reports.

Pelton’s plea deal did not include an agreement on his sentencing, the report states.

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Pelton was charged in February 2020 after police alleged he inappropriately touched seven high school students while “repeatedly” initiating hugs with them from September 2018 to October 2019.

Pelton worked as an officer for the Cottage Grove Police Department and was assigned as a school resource officer at Park High School during that period, police said. He previously worked as an SRO at Cottage Grove Middle School, the Star Tribune reported.

Police said most of the incidents occurred in Pelton’s private office within Park High School, which did not have any surveillance cameras.

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Several students also reported Pelton often called them “beautiful” or referred to them as “sweetheart,” and one student said Pelton told her he would date her if he were her age, police said.

Pelton initially denied that he touched any students’ buttocks while hugging them or asked for nude photos, but later admitted to requesting photos from one student after she graduated “as a joke,” according to the criminal complaint.

The Apple Valley Police Department led the investigation into the allegations against Pelton, due to the Cottage Grove Police Department’s conflict of interest, Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said in February 2020.

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Cottage Grove Police Chief Pete Koerner told the Star Tribune that Pelton’s actions do not represent the department’s values of “honor, integrity, pride and professionalism.”

Pepe Barton, director of communications for the South Washington County Schools system, told Patch on Tuesday that school resource officers within the district can now only meet with students if an administrator or parent is present.