School Principal Charged In Child Sex Sting

A middle school principal in upstate New York tried to coax a teen he met on Snapchat into having sex with him by bringing her McNuggets, a Grimace milkshake and some condoms, authorities say.

Daniel Erickson, the principal of Johnson City Middle School, is facing charges of luring a child and attempted rape in connection with the incident, according to the Broome County Sheriff’s Office. Erickson, 55, initially posed as a much younger adult when he met the 16-year-old girl online about a week before he met her in person, according to a sheriff’s report. After finally revealing his true age and identity, Erickson made “several” attempts to hook up with the girl, once even showing up at her house unannounced, a sheriff’s rep says. However, the girl refused to come outside to see him, the rep says.

That changed two days later, when the girl agreed to meet the principal in a “remote location” – where Erickson planned on having sex with her, says Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar. When Erickson arrived with the nuggets, milkshake and condoms, he found sheriff’s detectives waiting for him, Akshar says. “As a father, I know this is a nightmare scenario for any parent,” Akshar says. Erickson is being held without bail, court records reveal.