William Michael Haslach, a former employee of Independent School District #622 and ISD #834 in Minnesota, pleaded guilty on Mar. 31 to attempted production of child pornography and production of an obscene visual representation of child sexual abuse, according to U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.
Haslach, 30, held positions including lunch monitor, traffic guard, paraprofessional, and youth summer programs assistant between August 2021 and January 2025. Prosecutors say he used his access to children in these roles to take non-explicit photos of minors under his care. He then used artificial intelligence technology to create morphed images depicting at least 91 minor victims in sexually explicit conduct.
Court documents show Haslach admitted creating more than 690 such morphed images through AI morphing techniques. He also admitted photographing a pre-pubescent minor’s genital area while she was wearing a swimsuit. Authorities have found no evidence that Haslach distributed or shared the images he created.
A website has been set up by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for parents seeking information about the case: www.justice.gov/usao-mn/haslach-child-exploitation-case-school-district-employee-0.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation online and rescuing victims. The investigation involved the United States Secret Service, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Maplewood Police Department.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota prosecutes federal crimes and manages civil matters for the United States while partnering with law enforcement agencies across the state to promote community safety; it maintains offices in Minneapolis and St. Paul and began operations in 1849, according to the official website.
