Disturbing new details have been released about the New Jersey elementary school janitor accused of intentionally contaminating students’ food with bodily fluids.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Giovanni Impellizzeri was arrested last month for allegedly wiping food with his genitals, spitting on bread, spraying bleach on cucumbers and masturbating and urinating on pillows and kitchen bowls.
Authorities have since released additional, stomach-churning details of the 25-year-old’s alleged conduct at the Elizabeth Moore School in Upper Deerfield Township, according to the Cherry Hill Courier-Post.
At a court hearing on Thursday, prosecutors revealed that Impellizzeri disclosed in a chatroom that he added feces to taco meat at the elementary school.
Video obtained from his phone also showed him rubbing his private parts with hoagie rolls and then returning them to a container.
Another video allegedly showed him using a dish sponge from a teacher’s lounge to wipe toilets and urinals and then returning the sponge back to the lounge.
Impellizzeri allegedly wrote in the chatroom that these actions were part of a “sexual fetish” and that he was doing “the devil’s work,” prosecutors told the court, according to WPVI-TV.
Police believe Impellizzeri recorded the videos between October 26 and October 30 and that the food was likely served to students, NBC Philadelphia reports. However, officials say Impellizzeri was likely contaminating food for far longer.
“It is clear that this defendant has no regard for the safety or well-being of the community at large,” prosecutor Lindsey Seidel told the court, according to WPVI-TV. “It is clear that the videos were recorded on at least three separate dates within the school. But, his admissions and the messages indicate that this has been going on for a much longer period of time.”
Impellizzeri has worked as a janitor at the school since September 2019. The community is about 35 miles south of Philadelphia.
Also this week, prosecutors filed charges against Impellizzeri alleging that he possessed and distributed child pornography. Investigators do not believe he produced the material.
Impellizzeri was already charged with third-degree aggravated assault, third-degree tampering with food, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree attempted endangerment of the welfare of a child, and second-degree official misconduct.
Emily Bell, a public defender representing Impellizzeri, said her client has no criminal history and has long struggled with mental health challenges for which he has been receiving treatment.
Judge Cristen P. D’Arrigo ordered Impellizzeri to remain behind bars at least until his next court hearing, which is scheduled for December 14, CBS Philadelphia reports.
“He is a substantial risk to the community at large,” D’Arrigo said, according to WPVI-TV.
If convicted, Impellizzeri could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison.
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[Feature Photo: Giovanni Impellizzeri/Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office]
