NYC education official charged in child sex crime case

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This undated photo provided by Winnebago, Wis., County Sheriff's Office shows David Hay. Federal prosecutors on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020, charged Hay, a high-ranking New York City education official for allegedly using a computer to facilitate a child

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Wisconsin have charged a high-ranking New York City education official with allegedly using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and possessing child pornography.

David Hay, 39, was arrested Sunday at Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport. He was charged Thursday.

Hay, of Brooklyn, New York, was serving as deputy chief of staff for Richard Carranza, the schools chancellor for New York City's Department of Education, when he was arrested. The New York City Department of Education fired Hay following his arrest.

Hay's case hasn't been listed in online federal court records yet so it's unknown whether he's obtained an attorney. He was booked into the Winnebago County Jail.

Matthew Krueger, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, said in a statement Friday that Hay began corresponding in July on a dating app with someone he believed was a 14-year-old boy in Neenah, Wisconsin. That person was actually an undercover police investigator.

According to the statement, Hay and the investigator traded sexually explicit conversations and made plans to meet for sex. Hay reserved a whirlpool suite at a Neenah-area hotel for the encounter.

A search of Hay's phone revealed sexually explicit images of a former Tomah, Wisconsin, high school student, the statement said. Hay served as principal at Tomah High School from 2011 to 2014. Prior to that he was an administrator at Kettle Moraine High School in southeastern Wisconsin.

He faces between 10 years and life in prison if he's convicted of facilitating a child sex crime. He faces up to 10 years behind bars if he's convicted of the child pornography count.