MONROE — A Dakota High School teacher and coach faces felony child pornography charges after, authorities allege, he had sexual contact with multiple underage girls in this small town just outside Freeport.

Daniel Sheets, 37, was arrested Wednesday at a home in the 100 block of S. Elm Street in Davis Junction, Ill., on a warrant filed by the Stephenson County Sheriff’s Office, authorities said.

Sheets faced an initial three counts of child pornography and two counts of unauthorized videotaping alleged from October 2021, according to investigators. On Thursday he was hit with an additional nine counts of possession of child pornography involving victims under 13, according to a statement updating the investigation from the sheriff’s office.

“The investigation which resulted in the arrest of Daniel Sheets was initiated on July 11th, 2023, when a report was filed by an official with the Dakota School District (#201) regarding a teacher/athletic coach who was believed to have engaged in inappropriate communications with multiple female students,” the sheriff’s office said, in a statement. “After the police report was filed, Daniel Sheets, a teacher/athletic coach with the Dakota School District, was placed on administrative leave.”

Sheets was initially held in Ogle County, where he lives, pending his transfer to Stephenson County to face the charges. He is being held on $500,000 bond.

The sheriff’s office is urging anyone who made have been a victim or has knowledge of the alleged activity to come forward by calling the department’s investigative division in Freeport at  815-235-8252. 

The case, authorities said, remains under investigation. If convicted on the child pornography charge, Sheets faces a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison on each count.