November 21, 2018 at 3:30 p.m.
Janitor accused of sexually assaulting NCES student
Janitor accused of sexually assaulting NCES student
By By River News Staff-
According to Oneida County sheriff's captain Terri Hook, the alleged assault was reported Nov. 20. The suspect, Stavros Iliopoulos, 65, of Tomahawk, is an independently contracted employee from Victory Janitorial Inc. who worked at the school.
Iliopoulos made an initial appearance in Oneida County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon at which time bail was set at $50,000 cash.
According to the criminal complaint, a 10-year-old female student reported Iliopoulos took her into a school closet Tuesday morning and touched her inappropriately.
The allegation was reported to a teacher who contacted the school resource officer, Hook said in an interview.
According to the complaint, the girl told investigators she left her classroom to use the restroom when Iliopoulos approached her and asked for a hug. She declined and attempted to go back to her classroom, but Iliopoulos took her to a closet instead, she reported.
In the closet, the girl said Iliopoulos hugged and kissed her and then began to touch her over and under her clothing. She said she tried to reach the door handle but Iliopoulos grabbed her arm and pushed it up against the wall. He eventually let her out of the closet with a warning not to tell anyone what happened, she reported.
According to the complaint, investigators have reviewed video recordings of the school hallway during the timeframe in question.
"At 11:08:47, Iliopoulos is seen in the hallway as (the complaining witness) exits a classroom, briefly stops in front of Iliopoulos and immediately enters the girls' restroom and Iliopoulos walks down the hallway. At 11:09:35 Iliopoulos returns down the hallway, then turns right into the alcove for the girls restroom where the door to the closet is also located. A different camera angle shows both Iliopoulos and (the girl) walk toward the closet. At 11:14:46, (the girl) walks back to the classroom and at 11:16:48 Iliopoulos walks from the alcove."
In an interview with police, Iliopoulos claimed he was in the closet when the girl came over to him and asked what was in the closet. He said the door closed automatically but he immediately pushed the girl out and told her to "get the hell out of here."
He admitted to telling the girl not to tell anyone about being in the closet.
Judge Michael Bloom cited the video recordings when explaining his decision to set a high cash bond.
"At this point the allegations that have been brought against the defendant are very serious," he said. "The information presented in the complaint provides a level of detail which adds some credibility to the complaining witness's version of events. There is also observance of the defendant by way of surveillance video recordings which, to some extent, corroborate the allegations."
Bloom also noted he has limited information about the defendant at this point. Iliopulos resides in Tomahawk and has lived and worked in the Northwoods for the last three years, Bloom was told during the hearing. Prior to moving north, Iliopoulos lived in Milwaukee, however no information was given at the hearing as to how long he lived there. In a brief dialogue with the court, Iliopoulos stated he is originally from Greece.
Assistant district attorney Mary Sowinski indicated she believes Iliopoulos has been fired from his job at Victory Janitorial, however the River News has not been able to independently corroborate that information as Victory Janitorial has not responded to messages seeking comment on the matter.
In a post-hearing interview, Hook said it's not unclear at this time whether Iliopoulos worked at other district schools in addition to NCES. Anyone with information about this case should contact the sheriff's office immediately, she added.
School district administrator Kelli Jacobi had no immediate comment on the charges Wednesday. She referred reporters to law enforcement and stated the district does not intend to make any statement until Monday.
As conditions of bond, Iliopoulos is prohibited from having any unsupervised contact with anyone under age 18 and may not be on school premises. He faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted of all charges.
An adjourned initial appearance in this case is set for 11 a.m. Nov. 27.
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