STANISLAUS COUNTY, CA – In a shocking turn of events, a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office deputy was arrested on Tuesday. Matthew Dessert, 40, is facing serious charges of sexual and physical abuse of a minor, a situation that allegedly persisted for around five years.
Dessert’s charges are grave and include continual sexual abuse of a child, lewd and lascivious acts with a minor aged 14 or 15, penetration with a foreign object of a victim under 18, sexual battery, and physical abuse of a child. The case was brought to the attention of detectives by a school counselor who reported a student’s revelation of the abuse.
Detectives, following up on the report, discovered that the teenager allegedly had a connection with Dessert and the abuse started when the victim was just nine years old. Dessert was called in for an interview at the sheriff’s office, where he voluntarily cooperated. He was subsequently arrested and booked into jail with a bail amount of $425,000, which he managed to post a few hours later.
Dessert, who had been serving as a patrol deputy since 2014, has now been placed on paid administrative leave and his peace officer powers have been suspended. The investigation into the matter continues and due to privacy concerns, the name of the school involved will not be disclosed. Detective J. Wall is encouraging anyone with information about the case to come forward.