07/15/2026
Wheaton man charged with two counts of possession of child po*******hy
July 15, 2026
On July 10, 2026, Thomas Dean Schuster, 71, of Wheaton, Minnesota was charged with two counts of possession of child po*******hy after an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children had issued three CyberTipline reports indicating that Schuster had allegedly uploaded images containing child po*******hy to his Snapchat and Yahoo accounts.
After investigation and confirmation of his identity, a search warrant was subsequently obtained and executed at Schuster’s residence on August 3, 2023, with agents from the BCA, West Central Drug Task Force (WCDTF), South East Multi-County Agency Narcotics Task Force (SEMCA), and Traverse County Sheriff’s Office. Multiple digital devices, including hard drives and USB storage devices, were seized for forensic analysis.
Schuster was subsequently interviewed by investigators. He admitted that the user name, e-mail, and phone number associated with the Yahoo account belonged to him. He also admitted to having stumbled across po*******hy involving animals and young people, as well as having received numerous images and videos of underage children on different social media platforms. He denied ever touching a child sexually.
In addition to the electronic devices, methamphetamine and several other controlled substance-related paraphernalia were seized from Schuster’s residence. On October 22, 2024, Schuster was charged with Fifth Degree Controlled Substance Crime, to which he subsequently plead guilty on November 27, 2024, and for which he is currently on supervised probation.
An extensive search of Schuster’s electronic devices and on-line accounts was conducted by the BCA, during which no other images or videos of underage children were found. Due to the search of Schuster’s electronics, as well as investigation into potential victims and on-line conversations, and the high volume of other similar cases the BCA investigates, the case was not forwarded to the Traverse County Attorney’s Office until December of 2025.
Schuster’s first court appearance is scheduled for August 13, 2026.
