Charges filed against Minnesota State trooper accused of sending nude photos of woman to his phone

Tuesday, a Minnesota State Patrol trooper has been charged with felony stalking for taking a woman's cellphone, opening it and sending her private photos to his phone.

Court records show Albert Kuehne, 36, of Dayton, faces two counts of stalking with bias due to the fact the victim was a woman. If convicted, his maximum sentence will be up to 10 years in jail, a $3,000 to $20,000 fine, or both. The complaint was issued by summons and Kuehne's first court appearance is set for July 15.

According to the criminal complaint, Kuehne worked a single-car accident at Interstate 94 and Cedar Avenue. The driver of the car was a 25-year-old woman and Kuehne detained her as a possible drunk driver. Ultimately, she was taken to a hospital where she was treated and released.

Upon her return home, her boyfriend was using the woman's laptop computer, which is linked to her cellphone. Laptop records show the woman's phone was accessed and nude photos of her were texted from it to an unknown phone, the complaint states.

State Trooper under investigation for texting nude photos from phone of woman he arrested

Her boyfriend called the phone number and the person who answered eventually identified himself as Kuehne, according to the complaint. The woman called a lawyer, who reported the incident, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began an investigation.

Kuehne's squad video showed him leading the woman to his squad car. Along the way, the woman took out her phone and when he realized that, he demanded the woman give him the phone. Cellphone records indicate the photos were sent from the woman's phone at 4:44 and the squad video showed Kuehne alone in his squad at that time while paramedics treated the woman, according to the complaint.

Using a search warrant, investigators seized Kuehne's phone and found three photos of the woman on his phone. The victim told investigators she did not give Kuehne permission to access her phone.

Kuehne is not currently in custody at this time.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified a photo of Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer as Albert Kuehne. The story has been updated with the correct image.