Former Hubbard County official, who was a school bus driver, gets six-year sentence for sex crimes against students

A former Hubbard County commissioner and school bus driver was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for sex crimes involving minors.

Daniel J. Stacey, 60, was charged in April 2023 with criminal sexual conduct and electronic solicitation of a minor, both felonies, in Beltrami County District Court. He then was charged in November with nine additional felony counts related to criminal sexual contact with a minor.

Stacey pleaded guilty in June to four felony counts as part of a plea deal that dropped the remaining charges. His attorney, Joseph Tamburino, declined to comment Friday on the sentence, and officials with the Nevis school district did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.

Stacey resigned from the Hubbard County Board in January 2023 and was placed on leave from his school bus job during an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) that began after the parent of a Nevis student filed a complaint.

In an email Friday, Hubbard County Administrator Jeffrey Cadwell said he had no comment other than that Stacey’s actions “did not occur within the course and scope of his duties with the county and the county was completely unaware of them.”

According to a criminal complaint, Stacey offered to mentor a 13-year-old male on his bus route. He brought the boy to his property, asked him to watch pornography and tried to touch him in a sexual manner, court documents state.

The boy told investigators that Stacey told him not to tell anyone and helped him rehearse what to say about doing chores at his property. Investigators said they found footage showing times Stacey would deactivate the school bus camera when the boy was the only student left on the bus.

A second criminal complaint outlines similar allegations against Stacey with a minor who was 14 years old.

Stacey is a retired law enforcement officer who was first elected to the Hubbard County Board in 2012. He started working for the Nevis schools in 2005 and was employed as head of transportation, substitute bus driver and substitute teacher. Stacey also volunteered with the Boy Scouts and led drug awareness classes with students.

Star Tribune Staff writer Kim Hyatt contributed to this report.