A teacher was arrested this month on charges in connection with his alleged production of child pornography and extortion of minors in Muscatine, Iowa.
The Department of Justice said Wednesday that 44-year-old Chad Alan Craghead, a teacher and coach, “posed as a teenage boy online” and obtained nude photos of a 16-year-old girl. After obtaining those photos, per the DOJ’s news release, Craghead allegedly created another fake identity and demanded additional images. Craghead also allegedly threatened to share the images he already had with her friends and family if she didn’t meet his demands. This alleged extortion continued for several months.
The 16-year-old alleged victim’s cousin then tried to help, at which point Craghead is accused by prosecutors of threatening the second alleged victim in a similar manner, resulting in Craghead demanding and receiving sexually explicit videos.
The investigation, which saw the FBI working in partnership with local Muscatine police, also discovered that Craghead had “extorted or attempted to extort” several other minor females across the country. Some of those alleged victims, according to the DOJ, were as young as 13.
A report from the Daily Beast’s Justin Rohrlich adds additional context, including that Craghead is a math teacher and track coach from Fulton, Missouri. A coaching site profile of Craghead, who has taught at North Callaway High and Hatton-McCredie Elementary in Missouri, included the self-penned description of him being a “follower of Christ.”
Craghead has been charged with two counts of production of child pornography, two counts of interstate communications with intent to extort, and one count of cyberstalking. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years behind bars and a maximum of 30.
Earlier this week, a judge ordered that Craghead be detained pending trial.
Complex has reached out to the North Callaway School District for additional comment and will update this post accordingly.
