TOPEKA, Kan. — A former Shawnee County sheriff’s deputy convicted of stalking a woman after authorities discovered he had used a secure law-enforcement database for unauthorized personal surveillance will avoid serving a three-year jail sentence as long as he successfully completes probation.
Dustin J. Zahn, 45, was convicted by a Shawnee County District Court jury on May 13 of three misdemeanor offenses: stalking, official misconduct and harassment by telephone. The offenses occurred between May 30 and August 17, 2025, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office.
The case is particularly noteworthy because Zahn wasn’t simply accused of repeatedly contacting a woman.
He was a law-enforcement officer, and authorities say he used access associated with that position for personal surveillance.
Law-enforcement database used for personal surveillance
According to the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office, investigators discovered evidence that Zahn had used a secure law-enforcement database for unauthorized personal surveillance.
The woman was described in court reporting as a female acquaintance of Zahn.
After learning of the alleged misuse, Shawnee County Sheriff Brian Hill placed Zahn on administrative leave and stripped him of his law-enforcement authority. The Sheriff’s Office notified the District Attorney’s Office and referred the criminal investigation to the Topeka Police Department.
The Sheriff’s Office said TPD was provided access to requested agency records. A separate internal administrative investigation was also conducted.
Zahn was ultimately terminated.
The Sheriff’s Office additionally reported the matter to the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training for review of Zahn’s law-enforcement certification.
Sheriff Hill characterized the conduct following Zahn’s conviction as a misuse of public-safety resources.
“This conduct violated the oath, the badge, and the trust of Shawnee County.”
Hill said his office would act when an employee used public-safety tools for unlawful purposes.
Jury finds Zahn guilty
Unlike many criminal cases resolved through plea agreements, Zahn’s case went to trial.
A Shawnee County jury convicted him May 13 of one count each of stalking, official misconduct and harassment by telephone.
The trial included testimony from personnel with both the Topeka Police Department and Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office.
District Attorney Mike Kagay said following the verdict that accountability was particularly important when criminal conduct involved someone entrusted with public authority.
The conviction also established an important distinction: these are no longer allegations against Zahn.
A jury found him guilty.
Three years in jail — all suspended
Zahn’s sentence, however, did not result in him serving three years behind bars.
On August 21, Magistrate Judge Andrew Holmes imposed three consecutive one-year terms in the Shawnee County Jail, according to court records reviewed by the Topeka Capital-Journal.
The entire jail sentence was then suspended.
Instead, Zahn was ordered to serve two years of supervised probation.
The court imposed several additional restrictions.
Zahn is prohibited from possessing a firearm and from contacting the victim or victims. He must complete a domestic-violence-offender assessment and was placed on GPS monitoring, though the monitoring requirement can be reconsidered after 12 months.
That means Zahn potentially faces the underlying jail sentences if the suspended sentence is later invoked under circumstances allowed by the court, but his current sentence allows him to remain outside jail under supervision.
Zahn also worked for Silver Lake Police Department
Zahn’s law-enforcement employment wasn’t limited to the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office.
Silver Lake Police Chief Douglas Ashcraft previously told 13 NEWS that Zahn had worked as a part-time Silver Lake police officer since December 8, 2021.
When Silver Lake officials learned of the criminal allegations on August 28, 2025, Zahn was immediately placed on unpaid administrative leave. His police powers and access to the department were suspended.
His employment with Silver Lake ended May 13, 2026—the same day the jury convicted him.
A public-trust case
The case raises an issue considerably larger than Zahn’s individual conduct.
Law-enforcement databases can contain information unavailable to ordinary members of the public. Officers are given access because that information is necessary to perform official duties.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Zahn crossed that boundary by using secure law-enforcement resources for unauthorized personal surveillance.
The publicly available reporting reviewed by This Is Topeka does not yet identify precisely which database Zahn accessed, what information he retrieved, how frequently he accessed it or exactly how that information was allegedly used in connection with the stalking offense.
Those details matter.
They could help establish not only the extent of Zahn’s conduct, but also how the unauthorized searches were detected and what safeguards exist to identify similar misuse.
Sheriff says accountability was immediate
The Sheriff’s Office’s response is also an important part of the story.
Available records indicate that once the alleged misuse was discovered, Zahn was relieved of his authority, the matter was referred outside the Sheriff’s Office to TPD for criminal investigation, an internal investigation proceeded separately, and Zahn was ultimately terminated.
Kagay credited the Sheriff’s Office’s response following the conviction.
“No one is above the law,” Kagay said, adding that public trust depends upon accountability when someone accused of wrongdoing occupied a position of public trust.
Zahn’s case has now moved beyond accusation.
A jury convicted a former Shawnee County sheriff’s deputy of stalking, official misconduct and telephone harassment after authorities discovered he had used secure law-enforcement resources for personal surveillance.
A judge imposed three consecutive one-year jail sentences.
Then suspended all three.
For the next two years, Zahn will instead be under supervised probation, with restrictions that include GPS monitoring, no contact with the victim or victims, no firearm possession and a domestic-violence-offender assessment.
This Is Topeka will continue following the case, including any additional court records detailing Zahn’s unauthorized database access and the status of his Kansas law-enforcement certification.
