Stillwater School District facing scrutiny over former employee's porn charges

Stillwater schools facing lawsuit after AI child porn charges

The Stillwater School District is facing a lawsuit after a former employee was charged with using AI to make child pornography using pictures of students he worked with. FOX 9's Karen Scullin has the story.

STILLWATER, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Stillwater School District is facing scrutiny over its handling of student safety following allegations against a former employee.

School district under investigation

Stillwater schools facing investigation, lawsuit over porn charges

The Stillwater School District is facing a civil investigation and possible lawsuit after a school employee was arrested and charged with federal pornography. FOX 9's Karen Scullin has the story.

What we know:

William Haslach, a former employee, is facing federal charges for possessing and producing inappropriate content involving students. He reportedly used his position to gain access to photos of children, which he then manipulated using artificial intelligence. Haslach was mostly working in the "Adventure Club" summer program.

Imran Ali, representing two families, has launched a civil investigation against the district. He claims there were significant gaps in training, outdated policies, and poor communication.

District response and new protocols

The other side:

The Stillwater School District has responded to the investigation by strengthening its student supervision protocols. Staff are now prohibited from using personal cell phones when students are present, and any photos of students must be pre-approved and taken with district-owned devices.

Additionally, the district has introduced mandatory training on sexual exploitation awareness for all staff. The district has also acknowledged that some of the victims were Stillwater students, but initially had said they didn’t know of any due to lack of information.