Ex-Minnesota Trooper Pleads Guilty To Sending Himself Nude Photos Of Woman

A former Minnesota State Trooper pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday (June 8) to sending himself nude photos from the phone of a woman he arrested last year.

According to KSTP, initially, Hennepin County prosecutors charged 37-year-old Albert Kuehne with felony stalking but reduced the charge to "non-consensual dissemination of private sexual images." By Kuehne pleading guilty, that allowed him to avoid a felony conviction.

Investigators said Kuehne took a 25-year-old woman's phone after arresting her on suspicion of driving under the influence last year.

The criminal complaint states that he later went through her phone without consent.

When the woman returned home, her boyfriend was using her laptop that was linked to her cellphone. The laptop shows that the phone was used to send nude photos of her to an unknown phone number, but the messages were deleted when they looked at the phone.

When the woman's boyfriend called the unknown number, the man on the other line eventually identified himself as Kuehne, the complaint notes.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began an investigation into the incident.

KSTP reported that a Minnesota State Patrol spokesperson said Kuehne was fired last October. In a statement to KSTP, Col. Matt Langer wrote, "We hold troopers to a high standard, and the conduct outlined in this complaint is reprehensible and inconsistent with the core values of the Minnesota State Patrol."

Kuehne's case will be moved to Veteran's Court, which will handle his sentencing later this month.