Karl Waggoner, 59, was arrested Tuesday in Apache Junction, AZ following an investigation by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.
Waggoner is facing charges of luring a minor for sexual exploitation and aggravated luring/misrepresenting his age after he admitted to posting invitations to the proposed pool tryst online.
Waggoner, who is originally from Texas, had just been hired in July as principal of Four Peaks Elementary School — with this being his first official week.
CBS 5 Arizona reports:
A school principal in Apache Junction has been arrested for allegedly trying to lure teenage girls to a skinny-dipping party.
“This morning we arrested a Four Peaks school principal out of Apache Junction,” said Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb on Tuesday. “That arrest took place near the school this morning.”
Karl Waggoner, 59, faces charges of luring a minor for sexual exploitation and aggravated luring/misrepresenting his age.
Waggoner was hired in July as principal of Four Peaks Elementary School. This was supposed to be his first official week at the school.
But something last week caught the attention of sex crimes investigators in Pinal County.
“Last week, our investigators began an investigation after seeing an online ad for teenage girls to come out for a skinny-dipping party at a pool in Scottsdale,” said Lamb.
“One of our investigators noticed this ad and responded to the ad as a 14-year-old girl, at which time we continued our investigation,” Lamb continued. “During that time, he not only lured that ‘teen’ in, he also was explicitly sexual in his discussion with the ‘teen’ and also exchanged explicit photos with that ‘teen.'”
Waggoner was arrested and booked into the Pinal County Jail.
“Fortunate that we caught him,” said Lamb. “But it’s also unfortunate that we have this kind of behavior going on amongst our adults preying on teens.”
Waggoner reportedly “admitted to his behavior,” Lamb said. “He admitted to the communication and the other things.”
“This is an absolute violation of trust that we as parents put in our school systems and our educational systems. When we send our kids to school we want to know that they’re protected and they’re not being preyed upon,” Lamb said.
Sheriff Lamb ended his news briefing with a warning for all parents: “The Internet is a dangerous place,” he said. “There’s a lot of good that comes from the Internet, but there are a lot of predators out there ready to prey on your teens, your young kids, and they’re good at it.”
“Be aware of what your children are doing,” he continued. “Know that these things are out there. We’re doing our part to stop what we can, but we need to parents to be involved as well to keep these kids from getting into these types of situations.”
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