MARSHFIELD – Additional charges were filed Feb. 12 against a Marshfield School Board candidate previously charged with multiple felony charges of child abuse and domestic abuse.
Mathew Samson, 41, of Marshfield, was charged Feb. 12 with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 12. If convicted of both charges, Samson could face up to an additional 120 years in prison and a minimum of 50 years, according to court documents.
Wood County Circuit Judge Gregory Jerabek set a $500,000 bail for Samson, in the new case on Feb. 11. Samson remains in the Wood County Jail.
Samson was previously charged on Jan. 29 with seven felony counts including four felony charges of child abuse and one count each of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, false imprisonment, strangulation and suffocation, and a misdemeanor count of battery, all as a domestic abuse incident, related to two separate cases. If convicted of these charges, Samson would face a maximum sentence of 49 years and three months in prison.
A preliminary hearing on the original charges was held Feb. 12 and Wood County Circuit Judge Nicholas Brazeau Jr. found enough evidence to continue with the charges against Samson. Brazeau also continued the $50,000 bail previously set for Samson in each of the original cases.
Samson is scheduled for an arraignment on the original charges and an initial appearance on the new charges on March 2.
Due to the nature of the new charges, the Marshfield News-Herald is withholding details from the criminal complaint filed against Samson. The complaint details incidents alleged to have happened between May 2022 and November 2023. They were reported to the Marshfield Police Department on Feb. 6, 2026, according to the criminal complaint.
Samson is set to appear on the Feb. 17 spring primary election ballot as one of seven candidates for the Marshfield School Board. The six candidates who receive the most votes in the primary will move on to the April 7 spring election. Wisconsin state law does not allow the removal of a candidate from a ballot after their nominations are certified by the applicable clerk’s office.
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK – Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Marshfield News-Herald: Marshfield School Board candidate charged with child sexual assault
Reporting by Erik Pfantz, Marshfield News-Herald / Marshfield News-Herald
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