A teacher and LGBTQ activist was arrested in Michigan recently and charged with felony child sex crimes as part of a child predator sting operation conducted by law enforcement officials.
According to The Post Millennial, 32-year-old Robert Maurice Herzing, who was previously known as Robert Moore and who works as an English and journalism teacher at Waverly High School in Lansing, Michigan, was arraigned on Monday in Eaton County over three felony charges. Herzing was charged with third-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct, accosting a minor for immoral purposes, and using a computer to communicate with another person to commit a crime.
In an affidavit obtained by The Post Millennial, Stephanie Scheib, a female detective in Eaton County, claimed that Herzing started communicating with her in January after she pretended to be a 15-year-old male minor on Grindr, which is an LGBTQ dating app.
According to The Post Millennial, Scheib said Herzing exchanged cell phone numbers, requested photos, and continued communicating and making plans to meet with the pretend 15-year-old boy even after the agent claimed to be only 15. The outlet noted that Herzing was arrested at the Delta Township Library on September 12 after allegedly planning to meet the 15-year-old and accompany him to his home.
The affidavit obtained by The Post Millennial claimed that the September 12 incident was the second time Herzing attempted to meet with the child decoy agent. After arresting Herzing, law enforcement officials reportedly found condoms, rubber rings, lubricants, “fur covered handcuffs,” and a knife in the suspect’s vehicle.
READ MORE: Music star arrested, charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy
In a statement following Herzing’s arrest, Waverly Superintendent Kelly Blake said, “Waverly Community Schools was made aware of a criminal investigation into a district employee’s conduct while off duty. The employee was immediately placed on leave. Waverly Community Schools is actively cooperating with law enforcement about the matter.” The superintendent also noted that there was no evidence of any students involved in law enforcement’s investigation of the district employee.
The Post Millennial reported that Herzing had a history of sharing posts on social media in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, the LGBTQ community, and the Black Lives Matter movement, while sharing negative posts about former President Donald Trump. The outlet noted that recent pictures of Herzing showed him wearing women’s clothing and that the suspect frequently posted about transgender and nonbinary topics.
Pictures of Herzing shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Libs of TikTok show the Michigan teacher dressed in women’s clothes.
According to The Post Millennial, Herzing is currently scheduled to appear in court on September 30. The suspect is believed to have been released from custody after posting a $50,000 bond.