WATERLOO — A Northern Iowa school principal, track coach, and theology teacher has been arrested after Waterloo police say detectives investigated an alleged inappropriate relationship involving a juvenile female student.
Lucas Tanney (pictured at top), 40, of Waterloo, was taken into custody without incident on Friday, May 29, 2026, and booked into the Black Hawk County Jail on a charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee, a Class D felony, according to the Waterloo Police Department.
Police said the case began Thursday, May 28, 2026, when the department received a report regarding an alleged inappropriate relationship between a Valley Lutheran School administrator and a juvenile female student.
Tanney was serving as a Valley Lutheran School principal and track coach for the alleged victim, police said.
During the investigation, detectives determined that unlawful sexual conduct had occurred at Tanney’s residence, according to police.
Waterloo police issued an update Saturday, May 30, 2026, saying detectives had filed an additional charge of grooming, also a Class D felony. Police said Tanney was being held in the Black Hawk County Jail.
As of Saturday, Tanney was still listed on Valley Lutheran School’s website as the school’s 6th- through 12th-grade principal. He was also listed on the school’s staff page as a high school theology teacher.
The school’s website lists Valley Lutheran School at 4520 Rownd Street in Cedar Falls.
Police said no further details will be released at this time because the investigation remains ongoing.
A criminal charge is merely an accusation. Tanney is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.