The varsity girls basketball coach and a teacher in the Seymour School District was formally charged Monday with two felony counts for allegedly trying to meet up with an underage girl for sex.
Nick Darnick, 34, of Seymour was charged with child enticement and using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. He thought he was meeting a 15-year-old girl in Ashwaubenon when he was arrested Friday, according to the criminal complaint. It was a part of an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) sting called "Operation New Hope 2."
"Operation New Hope 2 is a statewide operation by the Department of Justice," said Lt. Jim Valley with the Brown County Sheriff's Department.
Officers began communicating with Darnick in March through a Craigslist ad. The conversation moved from online to text messages throughout the sting.
5 local agencies were involved, including Brown County Sheriff's Department, Ashwaubenon Public Safety, De Pere Police, Green Bay Police, and Oconto Falls Police.
Seymour School District Superintendent Peter Ross released a statement, which can be viewed below. Police are still investigating if Darnick had any inappropriate contact with students or players he coached.
"Nobody asked this guy to do what he did," said Captain Jody Crocker with Ashwaubenon Public Safety. "Nobody went to him and said hey, I'm a 15-year-old come and get me. He did this on his own."
The judge set a $25,000 cash bond with the condition that Darnick not use any device with internet access.
Here is the statement released by the Seymour School District:
Friday evening, the District was made aware ofthe arrest of Mr. Nicholas Darnick by Brown County Sheriff's Department. At this time it is presumptive for us to speculate what action will be taken by law enforcement. We are waiting for the Brown County District Attorney to provide that information. We will closely monitor the situation and have established lines of communication with local law enforcement and with the Brown County Sheriff's Department.
Effective immediately, Mr. Darnick is placed on administrative leave and until further notice.
The alleged actions of one individual, true or not, does nothing to sway us from our mission and duty of educating every child to the best of our ability. Our district is filled with many talented teachers and staff members who are and continue to be dedicated in the most ethical and admirable way each and every day.
