C-K janitor facing child porn charges
Colpetzer allegedly found with images after ‘secret admirer’ incident at school
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A Claysburg-Kimmel School District employee has been charged with child pornography after a teacher became concerned over an 11-year-old student's "secret admirer."
Ethan Ray Colpetzer, 30, of Claysburg, was arraigned Tuesday before Magisterial District Andrew L. Blattenberger on 74 second-degree felony counts of child pornography along with single third-degree felony counts of child pornography, design/copy obscene material and corruption of minors.
According to a new release from Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks, the charges come from a multi-department investigation that included the school security officer, state police, Greenfield Township police and the District Attorney's Office.
The investigation began after the student told her teacher she had a "secret admirer" who had been leaving her gifts, candies and notes in her desk, court documents state.
The teacher told police the gifts and notes began appearing in the student's desk around Christmas and continued for about a month until the "secret admirer" was identified as Colpetzer, who worked as a janitor at the school.
The teacher said Colpetzer was identified after the student wrote a note telling the "secret admirer" that she didn't like Andies Candies and asked the person to write his or her name on the note.
When the girl returned to school the next day, Feb. 2, she found the note folded up inside her desk and took it to the teacher.
The "secret admirer" identified himself as "Ethan," police said, and the teacher met with the school security officer as there were no students in the fifth grade named Ethan.
The elementary school principal called police to report the incident, and on Feb. 3, during an interview with a Greenfield Township officer, Colpetzer allegedly admitted that he left the candy, gifts and notes for the student, court documents state.
Other school staff members reported that, prior to leaving the gifts, Colpetzer had singled out the student to other school workers, asking them for her name, which he then used to locate her classroom and desk.
Police also learned that school staff had observed Colpetzer using his cellphone to take photos of students in the cafeteria during lunch.
Colpetzer permitted the school resource officer to view his phone, and the officer observed a photo taken of an elementary school student zoomed in to target her bending over a cafeteria table, police reported.
The school officer told police that he also observed a photo of what he believed depicted an unrelated, nude prepubescent child.
During the interview with police on Feb. 3, Colpetzer gave permission for the officer to look at the phone.
After a quick browse of the phone, in which the officer saw pictures of minor children performing sex acts, nude photos of Colpetzer and nude photos of adult women, the phone was wrapped in foil and taken into evidence.
A search warrant executed on Colpetzer's cellphone Feb. 13 revealed about 74 photos of prepubescent children performing various sex acts on themselves, other children or adults and 72 images of children posing naked. There were also three images of bestiality, police reported.
Colpetzer admitted to police that he saved the images from the internet and that some were provided to him via various web pages.
Possessing such images is neither a minor offense nor a victimless crime," First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith said.
Colpetzer was unable to post $100,000 bail and is being held in the Blair County Prison. His preliminary hearing is set for March 16 before Blattenberger.
Weeks said the second-degree felony child pornography charges carry a statutory maximum of 10 years' incarceration for each count.
The third degree felony charges carry a seven-year statutory maximum sentence.