Giovanni Impellizzeri at his sentencing hearing Friday in Cumberland County, New Jersey (WCAU/YouTube).
A school janitor from New Jersey is headed to prison after he admitted to recording himself doing sex acts on utensils in the cafeteria and spraying bleach on food that children and staff were eating.
Giovanni Impellizzeri, 25, was sentenced on Friday to eight years in prison, five of which he must serve before he is eligible for parole, the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release. Once he completes his prison sentence, he will be on probation for the rest of his life.
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The investigation began in the fall of 2023 when the Elizabeth F. Moore School in Upper Deerfield Township received tips about a man later identified as Impellizzeri posting on Telegram several videos of himself doing inappropriate acts in the school. The videos showed him wiping his penis and anus on several utensils, a probable cause arrest affidavit said. He did the same — along with spitting — on multiple pieces of bread before putting them back in a container where they were being served to children. They also depicted him masturbating and urinating on pillows and cafeteria bowls. Another showed him spray bleach on cucumbers.
Telegram users saved several of the videos and forwarded them to the school who in turn immediately alerted law enforcement. Cops identified Impellizzeri, who had worked for the school district for about four years, as the man in the videos. The school discarded any of the utensils or other items Impellizzeri had handled.
Prosecutors charged the janitor with aggravated assault, tampering with food items and official misconduct. A subsequent investigation unveiled that Impellizzeri was in possession of child sexually abusive material and he was charged with that as well.
In January, the defendant pleaded guilty to the official misconduct and possession of child sexually abusive material charges.
At Friday’s sentencing hearing, a parent of a child in the school district told the court of the horrific impact Impellizzeri’s actions had on them.
“I am disgusted by what this man did to all our children,” said Marisol Perez Cruz, according to Philadelphia NBC affiliate WCAU. “I am hurt to know that in one place where I thought my child was safe, she wasn’t.”
Upper Deerfield School Superintendent Peter Koza also addressed the court.
“What our students, our staff, and parents, and our children had to endure is unconscionable, and we cannot change what happened,” Koza said, per local ABC affiliate WPVI.
For his part, Impellizzeri apologized for his actions saying there’s “no excuse” for what he did.
“I feel very bad about it. I wish I could go back in time and not do it, but it’s done now, and I realize I have to pay for it,” he said.
His lawyer told WCAU her client isn’t a bad person but did bad things and now has accepted responsibility.
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