NEW YORK CITY, NY – A man who served as New York City’s Deputy Chief of Staff to the New York City Chancellor of Schools was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for arranging to meet a 14-year-old boy for sex after previously sending that child sexually explicit photos and videos of himself. It wasn’t a boy he was talking to, but a federal agent. After his arrest, feds found out this wasn’t his first time and found photos and videos he sent to another boy, 15. He was fired by the city after his arrest.
Matthew D. Krueger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on December 18, 2020, David A. Hay (age: 40) most recently of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment for his receipt of child pornography.
According to court filings, in May of 2010, while living and employed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, David A. Hay exchanged emails with a 15-year-old child. During the course of those communications, the defendant received sexually explicit digital images and videos from the child. Hay also provided sexually explicit images of himself to the 15-year-old.
Hay was principal at Tomah High School from 2011 through 2014. Prior to that, Hay was principal at Kettle Moraine High School from 2008 through 2011 before resigning following the school district’s discovery of irregularities with Hay’s licensing and the misuse of a district credit card. Most recently, Hay served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the New York City Chancellor of Schools.
Senior U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach called Hay’s actions “abominable for a man in his position” and emphasized the gravity of his conduct which involved inappropriate personal interactions with underage children as opposed to the passive receipt of child pornography. In addition to the 60 months of imprisonment, Hay will spend 10 years on supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.
This case was investigated by the City of Neenah Police Department with the assistance of the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.