A former employee of two Twin Cities school districts has been charged in federal court with receipt and possession of child pornography, as well as production of an obscene visual representation of child sexual abuse, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick.
William Michael Haslach, 30, of Maplewood, Minn., served as a lunch monitor and traffic guard for Independent School District #622 (North St. Paul—Maplewood—Oakdale) from August 2021 until January 2025.
From 2021 through 2024, Haslach also served as a paraprofessional and later as a youth summer programs assistant for Independent School District #834 (Stillwater).
Maplewood authorities began investigating Haslach after receiving a cyber tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension based on videos uploaded to a cloud storage platform.
Court documents state that Haslach, while he occupied several positions of trust with children, used his access to children to take non-explicit photos of children in his care. Haslach then used those images to produce morphed/AI photos of those minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. As detailed in the indictment, Haslach also possessed and received child pornography involving children that were abused by others.
During the execution of a search warrant at Haslach’s home, officers recovered multiple USB drives, and devices containing child sexual assault material (CSAM). A preliminary examination revealed approximately 800 files of CSAM. A warrant search of Haslach’s cloud storage account revealed multiple CSAM files, some of which depicted videos of children as young as 3 to 4 years old.
In a post-Miranda interview, Haslach admitted that he has a sexual attraction to children. He admitted to meeting with others on Telegram, Teleguard and BlueSky. He said he obtains CSAM from those individuals that he meets through those applications. He denied that he has ever had sexual contact with a child.
The federal indictment charges Haslach with five counts of receipt of child pornography, five counts of possession of child pornography, and one count of production of an obscene visual representation of child sexual abuse. Haslach made his initial appearance Wednesday in U.S. District Court before Judge Tony N. Leung. He was ordered to remain in custody pending a formal detention hearing on Monday, March 3, before Judge Douglas L. Micko.
“Prosecuting the predators who walk amongst us—in our neighborhoods, our communities, and particularly in our schools—will always be the top priority in the District of Minnesota,” said Kirkpatrick. “My thoughts are with the many Minnesota parents who will be horrified to learn how Haslach used AI advances to victimize schoolchildren in his care. Rest assured, my office will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”
Investigators believe there may be other victims relevant to this investigation. If your child has been in close contact with Haslach, and/or if you or your child is aware of Haslach taking a photo of your child, please contact the Minnesota BCA’s Tip Line at 651-793-2465 or email opn.gvcf@fgngr.za.hf.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the United States Secret Service, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Maplewood Police Department.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
