OWATONNA, Minn. – A high school janitor was charged with five counts of possession of child pornography. Jeremy Martin Alvarez, age 30, worked second shift at Owatonna High school. In a letter to parents, schools Superintendent Jeff Elstad said Alvarez had been banned from school property. No students at the 1,300-enrollment high school were involved: “The criminal activities were isolated to online behavior.” Investigator Kari Woltman said the videos involved children younger than 14. Woltman quoted Alvazez that he never met up with any child. The arrest followed a tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children organization about downloads to anonymous accounts with Yahoo, Instagram, Kik and Telegram Alvarez voluntarily surrendered his online-access device and passwords, Woltman said. The arrest itself was two days earlier.
Drugs-porn link?
The criminal complaint said that Alvarez admitted using meth and cocaine about five years, which he said led to becoming “hooked on” child porn. The linkage was not explained in the court document. Alvarez told investigators that he had gone to therapy multiple times but quit because he couldn’t afford it.
Alvarez. Arrested a week after authorities were tipped to untoward online activity.