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Cops: Custodian from Riverhead left ‘notes of adoration’ for 7-year-old

A Riverhead teen was arrested Friday for engaging in inappropriate communications with an elementary school student at the school where he works as a custodian, Suffolk County police said.

The 18-year-old custodian, whose name police declined to release since he may be charged as a minor, asked a 7-year-old female student at John S. Hobart Elementary School in Shirley about her access to the internet and electronic means of communication, police said. He then gave the student his telephone number and told her to contact him.

Following an investigation by Seventh Precinct Crime Section officers, it was revealed the man had left what police described as “notes of adoration” in her desk prior to the in-person conversation. The school is in the William Floyd School District.

In a statement, school district officials said the custodian was employed through a youth employment program.

“We are beyond furious that an 18-year old adult male custodian employed at our school through the Department of Labor Youth Employment Program left inappropriate handwritten notes for a student,” the district wrote. “When we learned that this occurred, we immediately removed him from his post and worked collaboratively with the police department to ensure they had all of the information they needed to make an arrest. We are thankful for the efforts of the police department and will continue to work closely with them to ensure this individual is punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

The custodian, who police said lives in Riverhead, was arrested shortly before 11 a.m. Friday. He will be held overnight at the Seventh Precinct and arraigned on October 5 at First District Court in Central Islip.

Police are asking anyone who may have had similar contact with a man fitting this description to call the Seventh Precinct Crime Section at 631-852-8726.