Flemington-Raritan school custodian charged with sex abuse images

RARITAN TOWNSHIP— An elementary school custodian has been accused of keeping child sexual abuse material saved to a social media account.

Carlos E. Barraza, of Raritan Township, was arrested on Thursday and charged with possession of child sexual abuse images and endangering the welfare of a child, both third-degree counts.

Barraza was an employee of Pritchard Custodial Services, a contracted service provider for the Flemington-Raritan School District.

The 34-year-old had worked at Barley Sheaf Elementary School for the past five years.

Barraza has been removed from employment by Pritchard Custodial Services and from the school district, effective immediately, school administrators said.

NJ man traced through Snapchat after PA minor tells cops

The investigation began when a juvenile victim reported to York County Regional Police in Pennsylvania that she sent “two images of her intimate body parts” to a user on Snapchat.

Using the IP history for that social media app, police identified the person who received the images as Barraza.

A review of his Snapchat account revealed 16 unique, saved images and videos of child sexual abuse materials, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée Robeson said.

“The arrest and charges against Mr. Barraza are terrible. The District was deeply saddened to share this distressing news with our community, especially on the first day of school for students,” Flemington-Raritan Regional Schools Superintendent Kari McGann said in an email response to New Jersey 101.5 on Thursday.

“The safety and security of our students is our paramount concern. All staff working in our schools are thoroughly vetted through criminal history background checks, including employees of our contractors,” McGann shared in a letter to the school district community.

Barraza was being held at the Warren County Jail, pending a first court appearance.

Flemington-Raritan School District serves 3,300 students at six schools, total.

There are four for pre-kindergarten through fourth, one school for fifth and sixth grades and one middle school for seventh and eighth grades.