NYC official accused of facilitating child sex crime

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NEENAH, Wis. (AP) — A New York City education official was arrested in Wisconsin for allegedly using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, police say.

David Hay was arrested Sunday at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee County following an ongoing undercover investigation, according to Neenah police.

Hay, 39, of Brooklyn, New York, was booked into the Winnebago County Jail on a possible charge of use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, according to a police statement. No additional details about the allegations against Hay have been released because the case is still under investigation, Neenah Police Lt. Pat Pedersen said Tuesday.

Formal charges have not been filed against Hay, and it is not yet clear whether he has hired an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

The New York City Department of Education said it has fired Hay, who was the deputy chief of staff to the chancellor, according to the New York Times.

“These allegations are incredibly disturbing and absolutely unacceptable,” Miranda Barbot, a spokeswoman for the department, said in a statement. “We took immediate action removing Mr. Hay from payroll and are terminating him.”

A website profile on Hay’s alma mater, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said he grew up in the small Wisconsin city of Antigo and later worked in the Kettle Moraine School District, among other places.