SYRACUSE, New York (WWNY) – A former superintendent for the Morristown Central School District faces 10 years to life in prison after his conviction on federal charges.
Following a three-day trial, 68-year-old Bruce Wakker of Syracuse was found guilty on Thursday of attempting to entice a minor into engaging in unlawful sexual activities and attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, trial evidence established that from November 2019 to June 2020, Wakker exchanged thousands of sexually explicit text messages with people he believed to be a 9-year-old girl and her mother. It turns out he was actually corresponding with an undercover law enforcement officer.
In the text messages, Wakker, among other things, discussed performing different sexual acts with the 9-year-old and sent the 9-year-old pictures of his genitalia.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in 2020, Wakker texted the “mother” in 2019 that “he was a ‘high-profile educator’ his entire life. He stated that he lived along the Canadian border for 27 years and was a teacher for 12 of those years, and an administrator for another 15 years. He stated that he ‘rose to the highest ranks in public education’ and that ‘everyone in the entire County’ knew who he was.”
The complaint also reveals Wakker sent the “mother” a message saying, “I have risked sending you things in the mail. I am completely guilty of many things if anyone was charging me. I fulfilled a lifetime career without ever having an incident. And now I am in deep s**t with you. And I love every moment.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wakker arranged to meet with the presumed mother and daughter. On June 11, 2020, he traveled from Syracuse to New York Mills, New York, for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse with the 9-year-old. Wakker was arrested shortly after his arrival.
According to the criminal complaint, Wakker “stated that he has never done anything like this, that it was a ‘mistake,’ and that he has ‘ruined’ his whole life and future.”
Wakker is faces 10 years to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he’s sentenced on February 28, 2024. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
Wakker was Morristown’s superintendent from 2000 to 2003.
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