UPPER DEERFIELD, N.J. (WKRC/KYW/CNN Newsource) – A school janitor was arrested on Halloween after being accused of tampering with food served in the cafeteria.
Giovanni Impellizzeri, 25, had reportedly been working as a custodian at Elizabeth Moore School in New Jersey since 2019.
It was discovered he had contaminated school food with “bleach and bodily fluids” while employed there, according to court documents.
Prosecutors say Impellizzeri also performed “sexual acts with inanimate objects” at the school, then posted videos of the acts on social media.
Parents say they were sent an email Wednesday from the district that only said it had been made aware of “alleged inappropriate online postings made by an employee.”
One mother, Shatora Sheikh, says she didn’t learn the full extent of the accusations until a friend told her Thursday night.
“I wanted to throw up,” said Sheikh. “I was sick to my stomach, literally not knowing if my kids, my daughter, particularly that goes to that school, had eaten anything, touched anything.”
She is most upset by the fact that the school and district were not more transparent about the incident.
“I’m hurt. I’m upset. I’m angry. I have a lot of mixed emotions,” she said. “I believe us as parents would’ve been like happier if they would’ve told us the situation, but nobody told us anything.”
Health officials say they are working with the school to ensure all surfaces, food prep areas, and serving utensils are properly sanitized, and anything that may have been tampered with gets discarded.
They also say they are working to determine if Impellizzeri has any infectious diseases and are awaiting test results.
“I had no idea it was going to be to this extent — none,” said parent Natalie Schmidt. “I am like freaking out right now. I have to take my kid and get him a whole workup done medically because I don’t know what he has ingested.”
Impellizzeri is facing multiple charges, including aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The district says he was placed on administrative leave.