Johnson City Principal Accused of Luring 16-Year-Old Girl for Sex

The principal of a Johnson City school has been charged with attempted rape after he allegedly agreed to meet a teenage student to engage in sex.

Authorities say 55-year-old Daniel Erickson of Greene was taken into custody following an investigation by the Broome County Sheriff's Office.

In addition to third-degree attempted rape, Erickson faces a felony count of luring a child.

Erickson is the principal of the Johnson City Middle School. District officials notified the sheriff's office of the matter last Wednesday. He was placed on administrative leave after his arrest on Friday.

Investigators determined Erickson had been exchanging messages with a 16-year-old girl who is a Johnson City High School student. The two were communicating via Snapchat.

Sheriff Fred Akshar said the principal and the girl had been chatting for at least a week before he was taken into custody. He allegedly tried several times to meet her. At one point, he was said to have visited her home but the teenager did not come outside to meet him.

According to Akshar, Erickson posed as a younger person in the initial Snapchat exchange with the girl. He later allegedly used his position as middle school principal and school database information to convince her of his true identity.

Erickson is said to have made statements and "overt actions to indicate he was going to engage in sexual conduct" with the student. He was taken into custody by detectives at a "remote location" where he had planned to meet the girl.

Erickson allegedly brought a McDonald's Grimace shake, chicken McNuggets and a box of condoms to the place he expected to see the teenager. She wasn't there but sheriff's office detectives were.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.