Custodian at Westborough elementary school faces child pornography charge
WESTBOROUGH — A custodian at the Fales Elementary School has been placed on leave after investigators charged him Monday with a single count of possession of child pornography.
Westborough and the Massachusetts State Police arrested Andrew Size, 52, at his 157 Milk St. apartment, police spokesman Lt. Michael Daniels said Tuesday.
In a statement emailed to parents, Westborough Superintendent of Schools Amber Bock, without naming Size, said "the employee" is placed on paid administrative leave and banned from all school campuses during the investigation.
"We are shocked and saddened that a member of our school community is allegedly involved with such an awful and damaging situation," Bock said in her email to parents.
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The investigation began with a tip provided to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to Daniels. Once police received the tip, they contacted the Massachusetts State Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children unit in May, which began an investigation.
Earlier this month, state police contacted Westborough investigators about Size. After further investigation, police obtained a search warrant on Monday and searched Size's home and arrested him.
Daniels said it's not clear how many child pornography files Size allegedly had, as the investigation is ongoing.
Daniels said it appears Size had obtained the images from other sources and did not create them on his own. Police do not believe Size's crimes involved his job at the school.
Search dog brought to school
On Monday, a Hillsborough (New Hampshire) County Sheriff's Department officer searched the school with an electronic detention search dog. That dog was used because it is the only dog in the region with that specific search specialty, Daniels said.
No devices that could capture images were located. Also, "images do not depict any minors from Westborough," police said in a statement.
Police conducted a search of the school's network and computers but did not find "inappropriate content," Bock said in her statement.
Fales Elementary School serves children in kindergarten through grade 3.
Daniels said that although Size is so far charged with just one count of possession of child pornography, a forensic search of his electronic devices could lead to more charges.
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"These cases tend to expand as you do more digging," the lieutenant said.
Size pleaded not guilty Tuesday at his Westborough District Court arraignment. He was released without bail and placed on a GPS monitoring bracelet. He was ordered to stay away from schools and to not have contact with children younger than 18. He is due back in court on Dec. 13 for a pretrial conference.
The name of Size's lawyer was not available. A phone number for Size was disconnected and he could not be reached for comment.
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: A Westborough elementary school custodian faces a child porn charge
