Former New York City Schools official David Hay
What to Know
- David Hay was arrested in Milwaukee on a charge of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime; he's also accused of possessing child porn
- He was a deputy chief of staff for New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza
- He was fired following his arrest
A now fired New York City schools official allegedly bought a whirpool suite at a Wisconsin hotel to meet up with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old boy, according to a criminal complaint revealed Friday.
David Hay, who was arrested at an airport in Milwaukee on Dec. 29 on a charge of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, started corresponding with the "teen," who was actually an undercover officer, on a popular dating app. Hay, a former Wisconsin resident, engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the child and made plans to meet up for sex, prosecutors in the Badger state say.
Hay was a deputy chief of staff to New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza; he was fired after his arrest. After he was in custody, a search of his phone revealed sexually explicit images of a former high school student in Wisconsin where Hay had been principal for several years prior to his arrival in New York City, prosecutors said.
In addition to the computer facilitation charge, Hay is accused of possessing child pornography and faces up to a lifetime of imprisonment if convicted of the enticement charge. He faces up to 10 years on the child porn charge.
"These allegations are incredibly disturbing and absolutely unacceptable," New York City schools spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said after his arrest. "We took immediate action removing Mr. Hay from payroll and are terminating him. We referred this to the Special Commissioner of Investigation and we will fully comply with any investigation."
DOE officials say that Hay had no contact with students in his position.
Local
It's not clear how long authorities in Neenah, a small town between Milwaukee and Green Bay where he had been principal, had been investigating Hay.
NBC New York previously reached out to Hay seeking comment; attorney information for the man wasn't immediately available.
