A janitor at an elementary school in Hamilton County, Tennessee, has been arrested and charged with producing child sexual abuse material after investigators say he created altered images of school staff and students.
According to an arrest affidavit, Zackary Nelson took a photograph of a staff member and two students at Daisy Elementary School and digitally altered it to make them appear nude. Investigators said they found roughly 3,750 photos and videos of adults and children in various stages of being altered on an account linked to Nelson. He is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor.
What Investigators Say Happened
Detectives with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Unit arrested Nelson as part of an investigation into the production of child sexual abuse material. Authorities said he was taken into custody at Daisy Elementary School, where he worked, and that a search warrant executed at his home turned up numerous electronic devices. He was booked into the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center.
The charge is an allegation at this stage, and the case will be decided in court. The Sheriff's Office said its investigation remains ongoing.
How the School and Contractor Responded
The janitor was not a school district employee. ABM, the company that provides custodial services for Hamilton County Schools, said it acted immediately. "Our highest priority is the safety and wellbeing of the students, teachers and staff in the schools we serve," the company said in a statement. "We take this matter very seriously and can confirm the individual in question was immediately removed from the account while the matter is investigated."
Hamilton County Schools said its administration is working with law enforcement and could not share more because of the active investigation. The district also drew a line around the employment question, noting that custodians work for ABM rather than for the district. "Please note custodians are not employees of Hamilton County Schools, and we cannot provide any information regarding their employment," it said.
For parents of children at the school, cases like this are the kind that land hardest, and the details are genuinely disturbing. What the district and the contractor have offered so far is narrow: the person is out of the building, law enforcement is handling it, and the investigation is not finished. That is not much comfort in the moment, but it is where the facts stand, and any further answers will come from the Sheriff's Office and the court rather than from the school.
