October 22, 2025: Former Cecil County Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Misconduct in Office and Unauthorized Access to a Computer

Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III announced today that Cecil County Sheriff’s Deputy Dontae Odom has pleaded guilty to 4 counts of Misconduct in Office and 3 counts of Unauthorized Access to a Computer.

According to the statement of facts read into the record, 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. Deputy Odom admitted that he 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. None of the searches conducted by Deputy Odom related to the seven victims were for a legitimate law enforcement reason.

Deputy Odom further admitted that in December 2024, he 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.

The Honorable Paul M. Bowman accepted the guilty plea today and sentencing has been scheduled for November 19, 2025.

“When law enforcement officers break the very laws they are sworn to enforce, they violate the public trust and undermine the integrity of our justice system,” said Howard. “Our office remains committed to thoroughly investigating — and when warranted, prosecuting — any instance where an officer may have misused their power and betrayed the public they are sworn to serve.”

Mr. Howard thanked and commended Senior Assistant State Prosecutors Abigail Ticse and Mary Setzer and Special Agents Michael Berg and John Sieracki for their work on this case.

A copy of the Statement of Facts can be found HERE.

Contact: media.osp@maryland.gov