BEDFORD — An Orleans man is facing a Level 1 felony charge following an Indiana State Police investigation into the sexual assault of a minor, according to court documents recently made public in Lawrence Superior Court.
Dakota M. Stidham, 26, has been formally charged with child molesting and dissemination of matter harmful to a minor.
The charges stem from a multi-month investigation led by Master Trooper Matthew Fleener of the Indiana State Police Enforcement Section, a veteran investigator specializing in crimes against children.
The state’s case began to develop on June 9, 2025, when a specialized forensic interview was conducted at Susie’s Place, a child advocacy center in Bloomington. The interview involved a 16-year-old female juvenile, identified in court records as “J1.”
During the interview, the teenager disclosed that approximately three years prior, on or around July 4, 2022, she was visiting Stidham at his residence in Lawrence County when he sexually assaulted her. Court documents indicate that the victim did not disclose the incident to her parents until shortly before the forensic interview took place.
On June 28, 2025, Trooper Fleener conducted an initial interview with Stidham regarding the allegations. Throughout that meeting, Stidham repeatedly denied the claims, informing detectives on numerous occasions that he had never engaged in any inappropriate behavior with the victim.
However, the police investigation quickly uncovered a digital footprint that contradicted his denials. Investigators obtained and reviewed messages from both Facebook and Snapchat, which confirmed that Stidham had been actively sending inappropriate photographs to the juvenile.
Facing the digital evidence, Stidham agreed on July 30, 2025, to submit to a stipulated polygraph examination. The examination was scheduled and conducted at the Indiana State Police Bloomington Post on August 10, 2025.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Stidham ultimately broke down during the testing process and confessed to authorities. He admitted to sending nude photographs and videos of himself to the juvenile via Snapchat, acknowledged that he had requested nude photographs from her in return, and formally admitted to having direct sexual contact with the minor. Stidham reportedly attempted to minimize the actions to detectives by claiming the explicit messaging and sexual activity were the result of manipulation by the underage victim.
Following the confession and the corroborating digital forensic data, Trooper Fleener finalized the state’s case, swearing out the criminal affidavit. Stidam was detained on June 16.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This article is based on the information provided in the probable cause affidavit and does not represent a final determination of guilt or innocence.
