FBI: Louisville Catholic school teacher used yearbook images in altered child porn
A teacher at a Louisville Catholic school faces federal charges on allegations he spread altered child porn images online that included photos of local students.
Jordan A. Fautz, 39, was charged Friday with distributing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse and distributing child pornography, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Western District of Kentucky office.
Fautz was a teacher at St. Stephen Martyr School at the time of the incidents – the charging document said he currently taught seventh and eighth grade students. A statement from the Archdiocese of Louisville said he was a "part-time religion teacher and member of the maintenance staff at the parish for 9 years."
Fautz will not be returning to the school, the statement said, and the parish and archdiocese are "fully cooperating with the investigation." A parent meeting will take place Saturday, with archdiocese representatives and FBI personnel on hand.
A federal charging document says the FBI had probable cause that several incidents took place between March 2022 and January 2024. In that time, Fautz is accused of using Photoshop to alter images of nude females to include school yearbook photos of several students and at least one adult.
Images Fautz is accused of distributing included the real names of one minor and one adult used in morphed images, the document says. Other images in a folder of child sex abuse material he's believed to have sent to an undercover agent include altered images and videos of students naked and/or taking part in sexual acts as well as non-nude images of students that included their real names wearing red "SSM" shirts standing in front of an "SSMCardinals" backdrop.
An investigation tracked the IP address used to distribute the images to Fautz, the document says.
In a statement, the FBI Louisville Field Office said it's seeking to identify potential victims. Anyone who may have information is asked to contact the FBI at ssmtips@fbi.gov. Victims may be eligible for restitution and other services in accordance with state and federal law.
If convicted, Fautz faces between five and 40 years in prison, along with a $250,000 fine and at least five years of supervised release.
Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville teacher Jordan Fautz charged over altered child porn images
