Joliet Public Schools District 86 acted quickly Wednesday night as the board formally fired the 23-year-old janitor who is facing child pornography charges.
The suspect was a janitor at Eisenhower Elementary School. According to the district, he has not worked there since October.
Joliet Public Schools District 86 said counselors were available for students and staff Wednesday morning.
Parents were left with far more questions than answers, Joliet parents voice their fears Wednesday morning as students were dropped off at Eisenhower Elementary School.
"Honestly, I was feeling like taking my kids out of school," one parent said. "If you allowed this to go on for so long, we don't know what he's done. He's worked here since 2022."
Jeremy Ledesma, a 23-year-old janitor at Eisenhower and Edna Keith Elementary Schools, faces child pornography charges.
In a statement Wednesday morning, the district claims that Ledesma passed all required state and FBI background checks before being hired in 2022.
The district states that it was made aware of a police investigation into Ledesma in October 2025 and immediately placed him on leave. He hasn't been back since.
The district said, "The charges do not allege that any criminal conduct occurred on school property. We will continue to cooperate fully with the police, however, details of this ongoing criminal investigation and videos have not been shared with us."
The district said that leadership was not informed of the nature of Ledesma's charges until last Friday, a day before parents were informed over the weekend.
The district claims that Ledesma also allegedly photographed children playing at the Eisenhower Elementary playground.
"I feel disgusted," one parent said. "I feel like the children were led to be in the presence of a predator. And we don't know what any of the children endured because they told us not to talk about it."
Ledesma is in custody and is set to appear in Will County court Thursday for a retrial detention hearing.
The school district said in a statement, "Joliet Public Schools District 86 takes all reports involving the safety of our students and staff very seriously. Late last week, one of our custodians who worked the late afternoon/evening shift
at two of our schools was arrested.
This individual, Mr. Ledesma, passed all required state and FBI criminal background checks prior to being hired by District 86 in 2022.
In October 2025, the District was notified that Mr. Ledesma was the subject of a police investigation. Out of an abundance of caution, we immediately removed him from our facilities on October 3, 2025, and placed him on leave. He has not returned to any of our schools since that time.
The charges do not allege that any criminal conduct occurred on school property. We will continue to cooperate fully with the police, however, details of this ongoing criminal investigation and videos have not been shared with us.
Mr. Ledesma has been suspended without pay pending discharge.
Both of our schools have counselors available for all students and staff to assist as we navigate this difficult time."