By: Ellen Cans
A former high-ranking New York City Education Department official, who interacted with the school chancellor daily, has been arrested. Federal prosecutors have charged David Arnold Hay alleging the use of a computer to facilitate a possible child sex crime, as per Neenah police.
As per the NY Daily News, Hay was arrested on Sunday by Neenah City investigators at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, in Wisconsin. The 39-year-old Brooklyn resident was charged with enticement of a minor and possession of child porn. When authorities searched his phone they found “sexually explicit photos” of a young male student at Tomah High School in Wisconsin, where Hay had been the principal from 2011 to 2014. The complaint noted, however, that the pictured teen was around 20 years old at the time, possibly lessening the strength of the charge.
The investigation against Hay began in July, when he began messaging undercover police Craig M. Hoffer, who was posing as a 14-year old boy named Colton. As reported by CNN, the two chatted for months, first on the dating app named Grindr, and later switched to text messaging via the TextNow app. According to the complaint, the chats became increasingly raunchy, despite the “teen” telling Hay that he couldn’t chat when his parents were around. Hay relayed that he was planning a trip to Wisconsin, and the undercover cop asked if they could stay together at a hotel with a hot tub. Hay agreed and made a reservation but then backed down citing family issues. According to the complaint, Hay also said he was “a bit scared” and referred to their age difference.
Hay’s attorney, Jonathan Smith, said that it’s significant to note that Hay cancelled the encounter. “I think it is important he never met with the person or attempted to meet with the person,” Smith said. “There’s certainly references to conversations he purportedly had with someone who was purporting to be someone who was underage, whether that was reasonable to believe or not is something we’ll have to explore,” added Smith.
On Friday, Hay was released on a recognizance bond in federal court. He is in home detention at his parent’s home, and must remain in Wisconsin. He is expected back in court on January 14 for the preliminary hearing. Should he be convicted on all counts, he could face up to 20 years in prison—10 years for the enticement charge and up to 10 years if convicted for child pornography.
At the time of his arrest, Hay was employed as deputy chief of staff to NYC schools chancellor Richard Carranza. He was fired shortly after news of the arrest. “Absolutely unacceptable. In my office we hold everyone including myself to a very high standard. We serve the children on New York City, and that’s why I immediately fired him. I also respect the judicial process, there is the assumption of innocence until proven guilty,” Carranza said Friday. “As a parent I would expect that my chancellor would fire someone charged with that sort of crime.”
Before joining the NY education department, Hay had been a teacher and a principal at two high schools in Wisconsin, where he has roots.
