Somerset High School Custodian Arrested On Child Pornography Charges

SOMERSET (CBS) – A custodian at a Somerset high school was arrested Wednesday night on child pornography charges.

Police arrested 34-year-old Miguel Pereira. He is charged with dissemination of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Pereira is a custodian at Somerset-Berkley Regional High School. He has been employed by the school for "only a few weeks," police said.

In a letter to parents, Superintendent Jeffrey Schoonover said Pereira worked at the school for five weeks on the 3-11 p.m. shift.

As many of you have heard the disturbing news, a high school custodian was arrested last night at SBRHS on charges of possessing and disseminating child pornography. The Somerset Police Department has confirmed that, at this time, there does not appear to be any involvement of any high school student. The custodian has been placed on leave pending the District's receipt of further information regarding the status of this matter.

The custodian, who was hired approximately five weeks ago, worked the weekday shift from 3:00 PM - 11:00 PM. Employment in the Somerset Berkley Regional School District is contingent on a successful background check, which includes a state CORI and a national fingerprint background check. All hiring procedures were appropriately followed for this individual.

I want to thank the Somerset Police Department and other law enforcement officials from the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force who worked on this investigation.

Officers executed a search warrant at Pereira's home before he was arrested at the school.

Following his arrest, Pereira was arraigned Thursday at the Fall River Justice Center.