Daniel Peggs, Sex Trafficking & Production of Child Pornography, Wisconsin 2020

MADISON, Wis. — In a shocking turn of events, Daniel Peggs, the 32-year-old Superintendent of the Altoona School District in Wisconsin, has been charged with sex trafficking of a minor and production of child pornography.

According to a federal indictment unsealed on February 12, 2020, Peggs allegedly recruited and maintained an individual, who was a minor at the time, from October 2015 through May 2016, knowing that the individual would be caused to engage in a commercial sex act.

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

United States Attorney Scott C. Blader emphasized that the conduct Peggs is charged with does not involve a student from the Altoona School District.

Peggs was arrested today in Altoona and 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 mandatory minimum penalty 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.

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. The Altoona Police Department assisted during Peggs’ arrest today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger is handling the prosecution.

This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Peggs is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwi/pr/altoona-school-superintendent-charged-sex-trafficking-producing-child-pornography