Former D-428 superintendent pleads not guilty to ‘revenge porn’ charges

SYCAMORE – Former DeKalb School District 428 Superintendent Doug Moeller pleaded not guilty to charges of violating the state’s “revenge porn” statute Friday and was granted the right to travel to Minnesota later this month.

Moeller, 60, was arrested by DeKalb police April 13 and accused of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, a Class 4 felony punishable by one to three years in prison. He posted $1,000 bail to be released later that morning.

Prosecutors said Moeller paid a former student to buy a cellphone, which Moeller used to anonymously send three compromising photos of a former district employee to two District 428 board members in February 2017. Moeller sent the photos to the board members without the victim’s permission, prosecutors said. The images were sent a day after the district board approved a separation agreement with Moeller, court records show.

Moeller was placed on paid leave from his job as District 428 superintendent in September 2016, days after Michele Albano, his pick to be the new principal of DeKalb High School, secured an emergency order of protection against him.

After DeKalb County Judge Philip Montgomery accepted Moeller's plea Friday, he said Moeller may go to Winona, Minnesota, from June 22 to June 24. Moeller has no conditions, such as electronic home monitoring, associated with his bond. His lawyer, Gary Johnson, has filed a speedy trial demand, which entitles Moeller to a trial within four months unless he agrees to continuances.

Moeller is due back in court at 9 a.m. July 31.