A janitor at a local elementary school and his son are facing child porn charges

An Albuquerque Public Schools custodian and his son are each facing child pornography charges after an FBI raid Friday reportedly turned up hundreds of sexually explicit photos and videos depicting children.

Wherry Elementary School custodian Thomas Abeyta is facing charges of distributing and possessing child pornography in federal court, and Carlos Abeyta is facing a charge of possessing content depicting the sexual exploitation of children in district court.

A detention hearing for Thomas Abeyta has been scheduled for Tuesday morning, according to court records, and Carlos Abeyta is being held pending a detention hearing Thursday.

An attorney for Carlos Abeyta declined to comment, and a federal public defender listed in Thomas Abeyta’s case told a reporter he didn’t “have enough information about the case to have a fruitful discussion with you.”

According to a letter sent to Wherry families by Principal Aimee Sewell, Thomas Abeyta was “immediately placed on administrative leave” after the FBI told school administrators of its investigation into him.

“It saddens me to share this news, but it’s a stark reminder that schools are not immune from the challenges of the world,” she wrote. “Our responsibility is to do everything in our power to protect our children.”

In a statement, district officials added they were “deeply disturbed and shocked by the charges.”

An APS employee for more than 24 years, Thomas Abeyta has worked as head custodian at Wherry since June 2008. Before then, he had stints at La Mesa Elementary School, Jefferson Middle School and Governor Bent Elementary School.

Authorities initially targeted Thomas Abeyta’s account through a post in which he said he’d spied on underage family members, according to a criminal complaint.

When contacted by an undercover online investigator, Thomas Abeyta allegedly said he’d repeatedly sexually assaulted a minor and had at some points given them medication so they would sleep through it.

Authorities said he told the undercover investigator his first name, that he lived in New Mexico, and that he worked as a custodian at an elementary school. Over the course of two days, authorities say he sent several sexually explicit videos and photos of children.

Thomas Abeyta also allegedly sent the undercover investigator photos of three different pairs of girls’ underwear, which he said he found at Wherry. He added he has “never tried to do anything to any of the children at the school because he does not want to jeopardize his job,” according to the complaint.

When FBI agents raided Thomas Abeyta’s home near the Petroglyph National Monument they said they found a phone in his nightstand with photos of child pornography.

Authorities also reportedly found hundreds of photos and videos depicting sexual abuse of children on several devices found in Carlos Abeyta’s bedroom.

At one point during the raid, he told authorities one of the devices in his room, a laptop, was originally his father’s, according to a complaint filed in his case.