‘Always hovering’ former Wisconsin high school administrator caught with explicit child abuse content on his phone

Police arrested Robert Gilkey-Meisegeier, a former dean of students at Sun Prairie West High School in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, for possessing CSAM (child sex abuse material) and two counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

The administrator’s arrest came after a student wrote an anonymous letter to the school district, complaining Gilkey-Meisegeier was “always hovering” over another female student, had followed the student on social media, and had been giving the student rides in his car. According to NBC News, the student’s letter said, “I am deeply concerned about the appropriateness of their relationship.”

The complaints just kept coming

The school district reportedly followed up on the anonymous complaint but found the accusations unsubstantiated. A short time later, however, one of Gilkey-Meisegeier’s colleagues also complained, with similar allegations involving three female students.

Around that same time, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children alerted the school district to suspicious activity on Gilkey-Meisegeier’s Instagram account.

The district fired Gilkey-Meisegeier in June 2025, and investigators found a locked folder on his phone with explicit content involving children as young as 12. Investigators also found Snapchat messages from the fired school official asking a student to meet up and send him nude photos. Authorities have also accused him of buying alcohol for the students.

Gilkey-Meisegeier is the fourth Sun Prairie School District employee authorities have accused of sex crimes against children in the past ten years; the courts sentenced two of the previous employees in the year before Gilkey-Meisegeier’s arrest.

Gilkey-Meisegeier didn’t have a teaching license

Meanwhile, Gilkey-Meisegeier, who has two previous driving-related arrests on his record, lacked the teaching license typically required to be a dean of students. The district initially hired Gilkey-Meisegeier in the athletics department. The district says Gilkey-Meisegeier passed background checks when they hired him.

Referring to the string of child sex abuse cases in the Sun Prairie School District and subsequent widespread community outrage, one parent said, “Parents are very outraged right now, because if not now, when? When are we going to do something about it? I don’t want to wait until it’s my kid.”

Referring to the case, the Sun Prairie Police Department said in a statement, “This investigation has taken considerable time due to the number of victims, the volume of digital evidence, the complexity of the case, and the coordination required among law enforcement agencies.

The department added, “Officers and detectives will continue to investigate to determine whether additional charges will be filed. The safety of our children is our highest priority. We want to assure the Sun Prairie community that we will hold individuals accountable for threats or crimes against children and work to prevent future harm.”

In addition to Wisconsin state charges, Gilkey-Meisegeier also now faces federal charges, including producing, attempting to produce, and possessing child pornography. Reports indicate that the court has set Gilkey-Meisegeier’s bond at $75,000. Officials expect his arraignment on September 2, 2025.