The former superintendent of a northwest Illinois school district was arrested and charged with “revenge porn” for texting nude images of a former partner, police say.
Police arrested former DeKalb School District 428 Superintendent Doug Moeller at his home in Elgin, Illinois, after an investigation led them to suspect that Moeller tried to anonymously send several salacious photos of a woman to two school board members, the DeKalb Daily Chronicle reported.
The school board members received the photos on February 8, prompting an investigation wherein police say they tracked the sender of the photos to a phone owned by Moeller’s former student. Police said Moeller purchased the phone secretly in an attempt to hide his involvement in the transmission of the photos.
“It’s a very serious issue, revenge porn, and a lot of people don’t connect it to sexual assault because it’s not a physical crime,” Lynnea Erickson Laskowski, director of communication and prevention services for Safe Passage, told the Daily Chronicle. “Users know that, and they think they hold a lot of power over their victims. I’m happy to see this investigated and charged in such a concrete way.”
The identity of the woman in the photos was not officially released, but the photos were sent a day after the district agreed to a separation package for Moeller.
The district fired Moeller after DeKalb High School principal Michele Albano filed for an order of protection against him claiming that he was pressuring her for sex after nominating her for her position at the school. Albano also claimed that Moeller threatened to ruin her career if she didn’t agree to his sexual overtures and even once brandished a gun at her.
Albano told district officials that Moeller repeatedly sent her threatening texts starting as far back as 2016. Still, despite her claims, Albano allowed the order of protection to lapse last October by refusing to appear in court.
With the separation agreement, Moeller eventually agreed to accept a $199,600 annual payment of salary and benefits including healthcare and accumulated vacation time. The agreement also states that it is “not to be construed or used as an admission of any wrongdoing and/or liability whatsoever by or on behalf of Dr. Moeller” and denies any liability for any other charges.
Those payments of public funds will continue despite Moeller’s arrest.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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