WESTBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - Authorities in Westborough say an elementary school janitor arrested on charges related to child pornography did not appear to target any students as an investigation continues.
Following an investigation involving state and local police, Andrew Size, 52, was arrested on Monday after law enforcement received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Size was arrested and charged for alleged Possession of Child Pornography, and was initially held on $2,500 bail with his arraignment slated for Tuesday. He is now reportedly under house arrest and has been fitted with an ankle GPS bracelet.
“I don’t have words to describe how just disgusting it is,” said Westborough Police Chief Jeffrey Lourie, who called the allegations “disturbing.”
“Anything that involves a child is just… I don’t have words,” he added.
The Westborough resident had worked as a custodian at Fales Elementary School, listed as a “PM Custodian” on the school’s staff directory page. He has since been placed on administrative leave, according to officials.
In a statement, the superintendent of Westborough Public Schools, Amber Bock, said in part, that “we are shocked and saddened that a member of our school community is allegedly involved in such an awful and damaging situation.”
In a press release from the Westborough Police Department, officials said officers and detectives started looking into the alleged charges after a State Police trooper on the Cyber Crime/ICAC Task Force received a report from the NCMEC. The report was then forwarded to Westborough PD.
As the investigation continued, state and local police were able to obtain and execute a search warrant of Size’s home, leading to his arrest and arraignment at Westborough District Court.
According to Chief Lourie, officers and a K9 unit also performed a sweep of the school he worked in, turning up no evidence that indicated Size may have recorded the student body.
“Obviously, we worked in conjunction with the school department to make sure that there were no electronic devices recording students (in) school,” Lourie said. “We did not find any. We did check the computer that he has access to in the school – no images were found.”
Size pled not guilty on Tuesday, before being ordered to stay away from all schools in town, have no contact with anyone under the age of 18 and not to use the internet. When 7NEWS traveled to the building Size reportedly resides in, a voice over an intercom replied “No comment, please leave” after the unit was buzzed.
The press release detailing Size’s arrest also mentioned how the initial report received by State Police came via the NCMEC’s CyberTipline. Launched in 1998, the release said the tip line serves as the “national clearinghouse for tips and leads about child sexual exploitation.”
For local police detectives, it was part of a process that helped illustrate what fighting crime that starts online looks like.
“This case is a great example of how we’re able to investigate crimes that are happening over the internet and seeing through the case so we can take charges out,” said Westborough PD Detective Elysha O’Brien.
Police also said the current investigation is ongoing and it is possible Size could face additional charges in the near future.
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