Another cop is facing serious criminal charges after investigators say he spent weeks sending sexually explicit messages to people he believed were kids.
34-year-old Chadd Muellner is a deputy with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota. He was arrested and charged with two felony counts of engaging in electronic communication relating to sexual conduct with a child.
Investigators say the case began in March when officers created an undercover account on Kik, the anonymous messaging app that has long been associated with sex offenders, pedophiles, CSAM collectors, and child traffickers. The investigator’s profile portrayed a 15-year-old girl. Authorities allege that a user operating under the handle “Midwestguy0303” quickly began sending sexually explicit messages, photos, and videos to the account.
Court records state that between March 24 and March 26 alone, Muellner’s alleged account sent more than 500 messages and dozens of files.
Investigators later created another undercover Kik profile, this time portraying a 15-year-old boy. The same user once again initiated sexually explicit conversations, sent photographs, and allegedly requested images in return. Authorities say there was no ambiguity about the age being portrayed by either profile. The accounts were presented as minors, and the conversations continued anyway.
As investigators worked to identify the person behind the account, they reportedly obtained records from Kik. Those records are said to have shown that the account was registered using an email address connected to Muellner.
Authorities eventually linked a phone number to Muellner and tracked him to his parents’ home. Officers contacted him there and exchanged messages with him before he later called investigators. During that conversation, court documents say Muellner claimed he did not currently use a Kik account, though he acknowledged having downloaded the app in the past. Kik Kreepers always say they downloaded it ‘in the past.’
According to the complaint, Muellner insisted that the conversations were not his and claimed he had been hacked. Again, something the Kreepers always say. He also reportedly told investigators that the allegations would be a “career ender” for him. No kidding.
Court documents state that by the time Muellner met with investigators, his phone had been smashed. Muellner allegedly told them the damage occurred shortly after speaking with them. They also discovered that the device had recently been factory reset. At first, he reportedly denied knowing anything about the reset before later admitting he had done it because he ‘panicked.’
These are not the actions of an innocent man, if you ask me. Smashing a phone after learning investigators are looking into you and performing a factory reset are the kinds of actions that naturally raise even more questions. Innocent people generally do not destroy potential evidence and then provide conflicting explanations about what happened to it.
According to reports, officers found evidence that Muellner had exchanged hundreds of messages and dozens of files with other Kik users during the same period. Authorities further reviewed jail calls after Muellner’s arrest and reportedly spoke with a witness who claimed he had used other people’s photos in online conversations in the past.
When confronted by investigators, Muellner allegedly asked whether an exception could be made for him. Instead, he was taken into custody and arrested. Blue Wall attempt, denied.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that Muellner has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the case. One has to wonder if that’s paid or unpaid.
Stories like this are always disturbing because they involve more than just the allegations themselves. They involve public trust. Deputies are given authority, responsibility, and access that most people never have.
Communities trust them to protect the vulnerable, enforce the law, and keep families safe. Yet time and again, stories like this emerge and remind us that some of the very people entrusted with public safety are accused of engaging in the kind of conduct they are sworn to stop.
These are the people the public trusts with their safety, and this is what some do with that trust.
And, once again, there is no evidence to indicate that Midwestguy0303 was any kind of drag queen.
(Sources)
Leave a Reply