On or about June 16, 2025, Faribault Police Officer Shuda received information about a possible possession of Child Sexual Abuse Media (CSAM) by a Faribault resident, COLE MICHAEL ENSTAD, [DOB REDACTED], the defendant herein. Dispatch notes indicated the reporting party found suspected CSAM on the defendant's work computer. At the time the defendant turned in his work computer he resided on Fowler Street in Faribault, Rice County, Minnesota. Officer Shuda spoke with EH who works in HR at Advanced Wireless Communications in Lakeville, Minnesota.
EH explained the defendant was a former employee. The defendant received an offer of employment on October 4, 2024, which he accepted. The defendant resigned on June 12, 2025, at which point he was required to turn in his work computer. EH reported on June 13, 2025, he was informed their IT department had located several inappropriate photos on the defendant's work computer. Company policy allows employees to bring company owned laptop home with them, which the defendant periodically did. Officer Shuda spoke with ST who indicated while doing a routine review of the defendant's company laptop he and DR, observed photos containing a 11-12 year old female in compromising positions.
ST said there were several other similar type photos on the laptop. Once these photos were located, ST took the laptop and locked it in his office so no one would have access to the laptop. Detectives Willers and Fillipi were assigned the case and spoke to ST. ST confirmed that the defendant dropped off his work laptop on June 12, 2025, told ST "I quit" and handed ST his keycard. ST explained that during the review of the defendant's company laptop, which includes a review of all files located on the laptop, ST observed one photo of what, in his opinion, appeared to be a 11, 12 or 13 year old female wearing only panties.
ST said the female was in a "not very good pose." ST thought this may have been an accident that the photo was on the computer, so ST scrolled to the next photo preview which showed another young female of the approximate same age, again in panties and posing in a way that highlighted the panty area. ST said he immediately called HR who contacted law enforcement. The detectives took possession of the laptop and obtained a search warrant to search the laptop to review the photos noted by ST. On June 17, 2025, Detectives turned on the computer and the username "censtad" appeared.
While reviewing the photos on the computer, detectives located a video of what appeared to be a prepubescent female engaging in masturbation and use]ing what looked like a green colored pencil to penetrate her vagina. The computer was powered down and placed back into evidence. The laptop was sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for analysis. The analysis resulted in the location of 10 photos which are considered CSAM. It should be noted the source for the files depicts the location within the computer the file had been stored.
