Parents in Kalamazoo are no doubt angered to hear that a custodian at a Kalamazoo public school has been accused of child pornography. Police executed a search warrant on Jan. 9 and seized computers that contained thousands of sexually explicit images involving juveniles. A week earlier, the 54-year-old custodian was accused of criminal sexual conduct.
The two incidents led the courts to charge 10 felony crimes against the man, who has been a custodian at Edison Elementary School for 20 years. Three of the felonies could result in a lifelong prison sentence for the man.
Police began investigating the man after a juvenile filed a police report stating that the custodian allegedly sexually assaulted the boy. Police searched the man’s home and found the pornographic images. It is believed that none of the images involved local children. The man is currently held on $500,000 bond. He faces hearings on Feb. 13 and Feb. 27 for the two separate cases.
Sex crimes is very broad category. It can involve child pornography, sexual conduct with a minor, molestation of a child, rape, incest, prostitution, crimes against nature and kidnapping a person for sexual purposes. Although most of these offenses fall under state law, certain offenses are punishable by federal law. Certain acts of child pornography fall under federal law, particularly when a computer is involved.
The custodian will need a strong defense in this case. A felony charge is the most serious type of charge. Morally offensive crimes, such as sex crimes, murder and robbery are typically classified as felonies. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Source: MLive, “Thousands of child pornography images found on Kalamazoo man’s home computer, detective testifies,” Rex Hall, Jr., Feb. 1, 2013
