Outagamie County HR director arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography

Sophia Voight, Appleton Post-Crescent
·2 min read
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Outagamie County Human Resources Director Adam Westbrook was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.

Sauk County Sheriff's Department said Adam Westbrook was booked early Friday morning. Charges have not been filed, but the department is recommending he be charged with four counts of possession of child pornography and four counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Adam Westbrook
Adam Westbrook

Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson said in a public statement: "We are shocked by the charges and have begun the process to terminate the individual. We will continue to cooperate with authorities and do all we can to assist in the investigation."

The Post-Crescent typically doesn't identify suspects until they've been charged but is identifying Westbrook because he's a public employee.

Westbrook started as Outagamie County's human resources director in September, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He previously served as Neenah’s city attorney and deputy city attorney between 2018 and 2022.

Westbrook was also the city of Sheboygan's human resources director between January 2023 and September, before stepping down over claims that he experienced “hateful” and “defamatory” targets against him.

After nine months in the role, Westbrook emailed several Sheboygan city officials Aug. 30 detailing his resignation. The email was obtained by the Sheboygan Press through an open records request.

In his email, Westbrook said a part of the community was “deliberately untruthful and unwelcoming” toward him.

“Since starting at the City, I have been subject to an onslaught of false, defamatory, and downright hateful statements and accusations coming from a small group of individuals who seem to relish in conspiracy theories, name calling, and trying as hard as they can to rid the City of anyone who doesn’t look, think, or act like them,” the email stated.

Those referenced allegations came from a community group called “Take Back Sheboygan County” which posted blog entries on the events that led up to former Sheboygan City Administrator Todd Wolf's termination.

Several of those entries alleged Westbrook’s action led to “corruption” at City Hall, with at least two blog entries attributing the resignation of a few long-term city employees to Westbrook’s conduct.

Westbrook denied those allegations in an interview with the Sheboygan Press.

Sheboygan Press reporter Alex Garner contributed to this report.

Sophia Voight is a local government and politics reporter with The Post-Crescent. She can be reached with feedback and story tips at svoight@postcrescent.com.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Outagamie County human resources director arrested in Sauk County