High-Ranking NYC Schools Official Arrested on Child Sex Allegations

Victor Westerkamp
By Victor Westerkamp
December 31, 2019New York
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High-Ranking NYC Schools Official Arrested on Child Sex Allegations
Stock image of a school bus. (Michael Schueller/Pixabay)

A high-ranking New York City Department of Education official was arrested at a Milwaukee airport on Sunday for facilitating child sex crimes using a computer.

David A. Hay, deputy chief of staff to schools chancellor Richard Carranza, was arrested after an investigation by the Neenah Police Department with aid from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, The New York Times reported.

According to article 948.075 of Wisconsin State Law, someone is facilitating a sex crime with a computer if he or she “uses a computerized communication system to communicate with an individual who the actor believes or has reason to believe has not attained the age of 16 years with intent to have sexual contact or sexual intercourse with the individual.”

“These allegations are incredibly disturbing and absolutely unacceptable,” said Miranda Barbot, a spokeswoman for the department, according to the outlet. “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.”

According to his LinkedIn page, Hay has been deputy chief of staff since 2017 and has served to both schools chancellor Richard A. Carranza and former chancellor Carmen Fariña.

As deputy chief of staff, Hay had no direct contact with students as he was based at a downtown Manhattan office. Up until 2016, however, he was school principal to two Wisconsin school districts.

FBI Busts 67 Sex Traffickers, Recovers 103 Child Victims

An FBI-led operation has culminated in the arrest of 67 suspected sex traffickers across the United States and the recovery of 103 child victims, authorities announced.

The initiative—dubbed Operation Independence Day—was a month-long operation that took place in July. In total, 161 operations were conducted nationwide as part of the initiative, which was a revamp of a previously successful program. More than 400 agencies participated.

According to the FBI, the sweep included undercover operations that led to the opening of five dozen federal criminal investigations. FBI agents and analysts worked closely with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to identify potential victims, which can include “young runaways, missing kids, and juveniles.”

FBI agents also worked with state and local partners to carry out the operations.

“This initiative has two crucial goals: rescuing children being sold for sex and prosecuting their adult traffickers,” Attorney General William Barr said in a statement. “Child sex trafficking is a heinous crime that preys on the most vulnerable in our society.

“Perpetrators victimize children in communities throughout the country, and we are determined to find and rescue them,” he continued. “Through the FBI’s leadership, we have recovered thousands of child victims, and this latest operation adds to the success of that decades-long effort.”

Epoch Times reporters Bowen Xiao and Charlotte Cuthbertson contributed to this report.

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