MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging an Altoona man with sex trafficking of a minor and production of child pornography. Daniel Peggs, 32, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury sitting in Madison on February 12, 2020. The indictment was unsealed today following Peggs’ arrest. Peggs is the Superintendent of the Altoona School District.
The indictment alleges that from October 2015 through May 2016, Peggs recruited and maintained an individual knowing that the individual was a minor and 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, the indictment alleges that Peggs used an iPhone to produce a video of the child pornography.
According to United States Attorney Blader, the conduct Peggs is charged with does not involve a student from the Altoona School District.
Peggs was arrested today in Altoona. He 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. 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.justice.gov/psc.
For additional information about human trafficking, please visit the U.S. Department of Justice at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking or the Wisconsin Department of Justice at www.doj.state.wi.us/ocvs/human-trafficking.
You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Last Update: Feb 21, 2020 9:59 am CST
