The Madison East High School teacher arrested Thursday appeared in federal court where he was charged with attempting to use hidden cameras to produce child porn.
David Kruchten, 37 of Cottage Grove, was charged with seven counts of attempting to use a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the conduct. He pleaded not guilty.
The indictment was returned on Wednesday by a federal grand jury, sitting in Madison, and was unsealed after Kruchten was arrested earlier Thursday at his home.
Kruchten was listed on the Madison East High School website as an adviser of the DECA program at the school. The indictment alleges that he attempted to produce the child pornography in Wisconsin using hidden recording devices on October 27, 2019, and on January 20, 2019.
The courtroom gallery included students from the East High DECA program.
The magistrate decided to keep Kruchten jailed, despite his attorney arguing for home detention.
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MADISON (WKOW) -- A teacher at Madison East High School was arrested Thursday morning and indicted on federal charges of attempting to produce child pornography.
David Kruchten, 37 of Cottage Grove, is charged with seven counts of attempting to use a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of the conduct.
The indictment was returned on Wednesday by a federal grand jury, sitting in Madison, and was unsealed after Kruchten was arrested earlier Thursday at his home.
Kruchten is listed on the Madison East High School website as an adviser of the DECA program at the school. The indictment alleges that he attempted to produce the child pornography in Wisconsin using hidden recording devices on October 27, 2019, and on January 20, 2019.
The release from the U.S Department of Justice says that the charges against Kruchten are result of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the Cottage Grove Police Department.
In December, the Madison Metropolitan School District reported that students from the programfound hidden camerasin their hotel rooms during a field trip to Minneapolis. 27 News confirmed from Minneapolis Police that they have submitted this case to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office for consideration of charges in connection to that incident.
The Wisconsin charges are not in connection to that incident but Minneapolis Police are named as collaborative partner as outlined above.
However, days after that alleged incident, Cottage Grove police and the Wisconsin Department of Justiceexecuted a search warrantat Kruchten's home.
If convicted, Kruchten faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on each count. He will make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Madison on Thursday at 3:00 p.m.
The Madison Metropolitan School District released a statement from Interim Superintendent Jane Belmore following the news of Kruchten's indictment.
"The Madison Metropolitan School District learned today that the District of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced an indictment charging East High Teacher and DECA Advisor David M. Kruchten, and that Mr. Krutchen been arrested for attempting to produce child pornography.
This news is incredibly disturbing to the MMSD family and our community. We want to assure you that MMSD will do everything we can do to support our students and community through this unimaginably challenging time.
Together, as a community, East High School and the MMSD community will get through this by pulling together in support of one another, and do what is best for our students."
More at WKOW 27 News