Plea deal offer for school custodian on food contamination, child sex abuse charges
BRIDGETON — An Upper Deerfield Township school custodian charged with deliberately contaminating cafeteria food and distributing child sexual abuse materials is considering a plea deal that could keep him in prison for up to 10 years.
Cumberland County Assistant Prosecutor Lindsey Seidel disclosed the initial offer at an arraignment hearing for defendant Giovanni A. Impellizzeri in Superior Court here on Friday.
Judge Cristen D'Arrigo set April 19 for the defendant's next hearing. Meanwhile, defense attorney Emily Bell entered a plea of not guilty to all charges. Bell said she expects to make a counter-offer to the prosecution.
The 26-year-old Vineland resident was arrested Oct. 31, 2023 by New Jersey State Police and held since then in the county jail. A county grand jury on Jan. 24 issued a seven-count indictment against him. The child sexual abuse charges stem from an examination of his phone, Seidel said.
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Seidel said the offer requires Impellizzeri to plead guilty to one charge of official misconduct and one charge of distribution of child sexual abuse material. She said he would serve five years on the first count, with no chance of parole, and another consecutive five years on the second charge.
The indictment lists the following charges: Aggravated assault-third degree, for allegedly spraying bleach onto cucumbers meant to be served to children; tampering with a food product-third degree; attempted endangering the welfare of children-third degree, for allegedly contaminating utensils and foods; tampering with a food product-third degree; official misconduct as a public servant-second degree; endangering the welfare of a child via distribution of child sexual abuse material-second degree; and endangering the welfare of a child by possession of child sexual abuse material-third degree.
According to the indictment, Impellizzeri shared at least one child abuse video and allegedly possessed less than 1,000 items depicting sexual exploitation or abuse of a child. All the offenses are alleged to have occurred in October 2023.
According to authorities, Impellizzeri was a custodian since 2019 at Elizabeth F. Moore School in Upper Deerfield Township.
Seidel said an anonymous tip from a member of an encrypted online chat group the defendant belonged to was made to New Jersey State Police, providing state police with images and messages he allegedly posted. In that content, Impellizzeri allegedly bragged about exposing school food and equipment to bleach, bodily fluids, and feces in order to sicken children.
The return of an indictment is not proof of guilt, but only step toward a possible trial for the defendant.
Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.
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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Prosecution plea offer to school custodian requires prison terms
