Cecil County Sheriff’s Deputy Dontae Odom in 2019.

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

A Maryland sheriff’s deputy has admitted to abusing his position by snooping through confidential police databases to look up information on his wife, romantic partners, and others, prosecutors said.

Former Cecil County Sheriff’s Deputy Dontae D. Odom pleaded guilty Wednesday, Oct. 22, to four counts of misconduct in office and three counts of unauthorized access to a computer, according to Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III.

Investigators said Odom, who had served with the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office since 2019, used his official logins to access sensitive law enforcement systems — including the Maryland Electronic Telecommunications Resource System (METERS) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) — to pull up private data on seven people between 2021 and 2025.

The victims included Odom’s wife, multiple romantic partners, relatives of those partners, a hotel employee, and a woman who worked in his office building, prosecutors said. 

None of the searches were tied to legitimate police work.

According to a statement of facts read in court, Odom was trained and certified to use NCIC and was repeatedly instructed that accessing such databases for personal use was strictly prohibited. 

Despite that, records show he repeatedly searched victims’ names and license plates for personal reasons.

Prosecutors said Odom’s misconduct continued even after he was placed under investigation. 

In December 2024, the Sheriff’s Office issued a no-contact order barring him from speaking with one of the victims.

Still, by March 2025, Odom met with the woman in person and secretly recorded their conversation on his phone, despite telling her he was not recording, according to prosecutors.

Judge Paul M. Bowman accepted Odom’s guilty plea Wednesday. Sentencing is set for Wednesday, Nov. 19.

“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,” State Prosecutor Howard said in a statement. 

“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.”