Former Marshfield School Board Candidate Enters Plea to Child Sexual Assault

Thursday, March 12th, 2026 -- 10:01 AM

(Justin Betti, WAOW) A man who unsuccessfully ran for Marshfield school board, this year, entered a not guilty plea to child sexual assault charges, Wednesday.

According to Justin Betti with WAOW, Mathew L. Samson, 41, appeared in court by video, in custody of the Wood County Jail, for a preliminary hearing and arraignment. His attorney entered the not guilty plea on his behalf.

Earlier this month, Samson had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf in a separate but related child and domestic abuse case. Court records reveal that a 10-year-old victim reported to police in February that Samson raped her twice between May 2022 and November 2023 when she was 7 or 8.

The victim stated she had previously told adults about the assaults, but they did not believe her. She later retracted her statements because she did not want Samson to go to jail, but decided to speak up again after Samson was jailed on other charges.

Samson is being held on a $500,000 cash bond. He's next due for a status conference in both cases on May 8th.

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