August 20, 2025: Cecil County Sheriff’s Deputy Charged with Misconduct, Misuse of Law Enforcement Databases, and a Wiretap Violation

Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III announced today that Cecil County Sheriff’s Deputy Dontae Odom has been charged by Criminal Information with 28 counts of Misconduct in Office, 16 counts of Unauthorized Access to a Computer, and one count of Unlawful Interception of Communications.

According to the charging document, Deputy Odom, who has served as a sworn law enforcement officer with the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office since approximately 2019, had access to confidential law enforcement databases. Law enforcement officers’ access to the confidential databases is limited to records required for the performance of officers’ official duties, and users are prohibited from searching information for personal use or associated with family or friends.

The charging document alleges that Deputy Odom used law enforcement databases to find information about seven different individuals, including his wife, romantic partners, relatives of his romantic partners, a hotel employee, and a woman who worked in his office building. According to the charging document, none of the searches conducted by Deputy Odom related to the seven victims were for a legitimate law enforcement reason.

The charging document further alleges that in December 2024, Deputy Odom was ordered by the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office not to have any contact with an individual identified as Victim 4. Nonetheless, in March 2025, Deputy Odom met with Victim 4 and despite telling her that he was not recording, Deputy Odom audio recorded the meeting without Victim 4’s knowledge or consent.

“Law enforcement officers are vested with significant powers to discharge their important duties,” stated Howard.  “Our office will continue to investigate and where appropriate prosecute any allegations that a police officer abused those powers and violated the privacy rights of members of the community they are sworn to protect.”

Cecil County Sheriff Adams stated, “we would like to thank the State Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance in this investigation. We received the initial complaint and upon review, decided that in the spirit of transparency, that an independent investigation would be best served in this case.  We take our job as public servants very seriously and expect all of our deputies to serve with the utmost integrity and professionalism.”

All individuals who are charged with a criminal offense are presumed to be innocent.

A copy of the charging document can be found HERE.