by Adrienne Blaine
Graphic Designer   
     “At Saratoga High School the janitors are close to us. Some of them are our biggest fans,” said Kathleen Roberts, a senior at SHS. She, like many students at their school, was shocked to hear that thirty-eight year old janitor, Jaun Edmundo Morales Jauregui, has been missing since San Jose police attempted to arrest him on Jan. 23 for alleged child molestation.

     The thirteen-year employee has been under investigation since Aug. 2008. San Jose Police followed a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that someone in their jurisdiction was downloading child pornography. The NCMEC is a private nonprofit organization that provides nationwide services for families and professionals for the prevention of abducted, endangered and sexually exploited children. These services include a CyberTipline, essentially a “9-1-1 for the Internet.” The public and electronic service providers may use the tip line to report internet-related child sexual exploitation in an effort to assist law enforcement and reduce the distribution of child pornography over the Internet while offering help to its victims.
 
     Using a search warrant on his Internet address, the San Jose police confirmed NCMEC’s tip. They pinpointed Jauregui’s Tierra Buena Drive home in San Jose as the source of the illegal pornographic activity. The police attempted to arrest Jaregui in his home on Jan. 23, but he had fled. In Jauregui’s home was child pornography and images of the janitor molesting a young child. This child was identified as a seven-year-old daughter of family friends. The girl confirms that the molestations occurred and continued for several years starting at the age of seven. Jauregui has not been accused of molesting any SHS students. Although it is known that Jauregui has family in Mexico, the police continue to search for him locally. On Feb. 5 his 2004 Nissan Altima was found near North First Street and Gish Road in San Jose.

     Many parents and students in the Saratoga and Los Gatos communities have asked how this could have occured. Roberts recalled a brief interaction with Jauregui that caused her a reflective alarm; “He helped me find my cell phone once. He seemed nice. I didn’t think…” Her mother, Leslie Roberts, wants to know more about what happened and how it can be prevented in the future, “to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

     Dee Towner, the human resources manager in charge of hiring for the joint Saratoga and Los Gatos high school districts, assures that the district takes their responsibility to ensure the safety of their students very seriously. Employment requirements include reference checks and fingerprinting. Towner said, “Each employee and volunteer must have fingerprint clearance from the Department of Justice prior to working in our district.” In addition the district is contracted with the Department of Justice to receive subsequent notifications of arrest for all district employees and volunteers.

     LGSUHSD Superintendent Cary Matsuoka said the district is surprised to hear of the allegations against an employee with no history of problems at his job. "We're kind of shocked and saddened to learn that this potentially could have happened," Mosuoka said.

     Anyone with information on this case is asked to call detective Kendra Nunes or Sgt. Randy Schriefer of the San Jose Police Department's Sexual Assault Investigations Unit at (408) 277-4102. Persons wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP.

(Source: Mercury News, NBCBayArea & NCMEC)