A 19-year-old Lunenburg man who is a paraprofessional at a Shrewsbury middle school was arrested Thursday on child pornography charges, according to police and school officials.
Aiden York pleaded not guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of dissemination of visual material of a child in a state of nudity or sexual conduct at his arraignment Thursday in Fitchburg District Court, Lunenburg police said in a statement.
He was released on $2,500 cash bail and ordered to have no unsupervised contact with children under 16 and to stay away from all primary and secondary schools, according to online court records.
His attorneys could not be reached for comment late Thursday night. His next court date is Feb. 10.
The charges do not relate to any student in the Shrewsbury Public Schools, Superintendent Joe Sawyer said in a statement Thursday.
York, who is listed in school records as Aiden York-Wallach, is on leave from his job as an ABA technician paraeducator (which specialize in behavior analysis) at Sherwood Middle School, officials said.
York also worked at extended school care programs at the middle school and two elementary schools, Major Howard W. Beal School and Spring Street School, Sawyer said.
He had also been involved with the summer enrichment and special education extended year programs and in unified athletics and social clubs at the middle schools, according to the statement.
York, who also previously worked in Lunenburg Public Schools, was arrested following an investigation involving local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, officials said.
York had no criminal record prior to working in Shrewsbury and the district had performed all required criminal background checks during the hiring process, Sawyer said.
Shrewsbury police are working closely with the school district as the investigation continues.
“We understand that news of this nature is concerning for families and the community,” Shrewsbury police said. “Please know that the safety and well-being of students is our highest priority, and we take these matters extremely seriously.”
In Lunenburg, York worked at the early learning center for six months as part of a work experience program for high school seniors, and in an extended day program until June of 2024, Superintendent Jodi Fortuna said in a separate statement.
Law enforcement said York’s alleged crimes did not happen while employed with Lunenburg schools, Fortuna said.
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