ALTOONA, Wis. — A school superintendent in western Wisconsin was arrested Thursday on federal charges of sex trafficking of a minor and production of child pornography.
A federal grand jury indicted Altoona school Superintendent Daniel Peggs last week, and the indictment was unsealed after Peggs' arrest, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, Scott Blader, and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said Thursday.
Peggs, 32, was arrested about 7 a.m. Thursday on his way to school, Altoona school board President Robin Elvig told the Leader-Telegram.
“Utter shock is an understatement,” Elvig said. “I'm still in shock.”
The Altoona school board chose Peggs as its new superintendent in February 2019 and he began serving in that position in July. Before that, he had been Altoona's middle school principal since 2016.
The indictment alleges that between October 2015 through May 2016, Peggs recruited an underage female for a commercial sex act and used an iPhone to produce a video of child pornography in December 2015.
Blader, the U.S. attorney, said the alleged conduct does not involve a student from the Altoona district.
Peggs appeared in U.S. District Court in Madison on Thursday and was ordered to be held until a detention hearing Monday. His federal public defender, Joseph Bugni, said Thursday he had no comment.
The Altoona school district has four schools and just over 1,700 students.
The school district sent the following message to families:
We have been informed by local police that this morning around 7:00 am, Superintendent Dan Peggs was arrested and was indicted on federal charges of sex trafficking and production of child pornography.
An investigation is taking place with federal and local law enforcement agencies. At this time we are unaware of any Altoona students being involved.
The Altoona School District administration is working with the school board to look at our next steps.
Student safety, as always, is our number one priority. We will continue to work with Chief Bakken and local law enforcement to be sure that students are safe.
Because this is a police matter, we are unable to comment further. We will continue to focus on the education and well being of our students and community. We realize this is a tremendous shock to the Altoona community. We appreciate your cooperation as we provide our best for our students.
All questions concerning the investigation by law enforcement should be directed to the Altoona Police Department.
We will continue to update you as to how the district will move forward. Questions regarding the operations of the school district of Altoona should be directed to Mr. Markgren.