Hay eventually reserved a whirlpool suite at a Neenah hotel for an encounter with the boy on Saturday night. He canceled the meeting at the last minute, however, messaging the investigator, who was still posing as the boy, that his mother had fallen down the stairs and that he was scheduled to fly out of the state on Sunday.

A search of Hay’s phone revealed sexually explicit images of a former Tomah, Wisconsin, high school student, according to court documents and the U.S. attorney’s statement. Hay served as principal at Tomah High School from 2011 to 2014.

"There were no known accusations of inappropriate or illegal behavior by Mr. Hay during his tenure in Tomah," Tomah Area School District superintendent Cindy Zahrte said Friday. "The Tomah Area School District will fully cooperate with any law enforcement investigation if such a request is made."

Hay left Wisconsin in 2014 to attend the Doctor of Education program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Hay left Wisconsin to attend the Doctor of Education program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Before that, he was an administrator at Kettle Moraine High School in southeastern Wisconsin.