Wisconsin School Superintendent Arrested For Sex Trafficking

ALTOONA, WI — A Wisconsin school superintendent has been charged with sex trafficking and making child pornography, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said Thursday.

Daniel Peggs, 32, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Madison on Feb. 12. The indictment was unsealed Thursday following Peggs’ arrest. Peggs is the Superintendent of the Altoona School District. According to his Linkedin page, Peggs was named the superintendent in July after working as a middle school principal and a district assessment coordinator since his hiring in 2016.

The indictment alleges that from Oct. 2015 through May 2016, Peggs recruited and maintained a relationship with a person younger than 18 years old, knowing that they were a minor and would be caused to engage in a commercial sex act.

The indictment also alleges that in Dec. 2015, Peggs used the minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the sex act. The indictment alleges that Peggs used an iPhone to produce a video of the child pornography.

According to United States Attorney Blader, the conduct Peggs is charged with does not involve a student from the Altoona School District.

Peggs was arrested Thursday in Altoona. Authorities say he will be brought to Madison for an initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Stephen L. Crocker in U.S. District Court at 1:30 p.m.

If convicted, Peggs faces a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in federal prison on the sex trafficking a minor charge. The production of child pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years.

Authorities in Wisconsin say the charges against Peggs are the result of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.