A New Jersey school janitor is accused of contaminating food with bodily fluids
A New Jersey elementary school custodian is accused of engaging in sexual acts with school property and contaminating food and cafeteria supplies with bodily fluids and bleach.
Giovanni Impellizzeri, 25, is accused of contaminating food and kitchen utensils with saliva, urine and feces in the Elizabeth Moore School cafeteria. He also sprayed bleach into a container of food that was later served to the children “with the intent to harm the students,” a probable cause affidavit said.
“I covered my mouth and started crying,” said Bianca Pierce, mother of a student at the school. said NBC Philadelphia. “I was at a loss for words. I mean, what can you say about a situation where someone did these disgusting things at the school where your child was supposed to be safe? I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart.”
Authorities at the school in Upper Deerfield Township contacted New Jersey State Police on Monday to report numerous anonymous tips about offensive social media posts by Impellizzeri. Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said in a news release.
According to the affidavit, Impellizzeri posted “extremely disturbing videos of himself at work” in a Telegram group thread. The NJSP obtained several screenshots and videos from a social media account that appeared to show Impellizzeri “performing sexual acts with inanimate objects at school,” officials said.
The posts showed Impellizzeri “doing things that would endanger the well-being of students at the school,” the criminal complaint says. He also contaminated more items with his bodily fluids in another area of the school, officials said.
Authorities determined that Impellizzeri committed the crimes while employed at the school, where he had worked as a counselor since September 2019. However, they were unsure whether the acts were committed recently or in the past.
Impellizzeri, of Vineland, was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated assault, food tampering, endangering the welfare of a child and attempted misconduct, investigators said. He was also charged Thursday with official misconduct and is being held in the Cumberland County Jail.
Authorities are collecting samples of body fluids to determine whether there is a health risk to those who consumed food from the school cafeteria.
The Upper Deerfield School District has placed Impellizzeri on administrative leave, NBC Philadelphia reported.
A call to the public defender’s office was not immediately returned Sunday evening.
