A school janitor was arrested and charged in a human trafficking scheme in Michigan, officials said.
Jeremy Jonathan Byl, a 47-year-old custodian at Holland High School, is accused of taking part in a commercial sex operation, according to a July 11 news release from the Kent County Sheriff’s Office.
He allegedly posed as a woman online to facilitate commercial sex, the sheriff’s office said. He also reportedly transported female victims for commercial sex and reaped profits from the transactions.
Byl, a resident of Walker, was charged with prostitution/transporting, aiding and abetting prostitution and using the internet to communicate with others about committing crimes.
An attorney for Byl could not immediately be reached for comment by McClatchy News.
His arrest is the culmination of a seven month investigation by the Kent County Sheriff’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force.
“Currently, there is no information to indicate anyone in the schools are involved or students were targeted,” the sheriff’s office said.
The investigation is ongoing and officials expect more charges to be filed.
A representative for Holland Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment from News, but said in a statement that there was “no indication of wrongdoing” toward students or staff, according to the Holland Sentinel.
“All people who work in our schools, even contracted employees such as this, must pass a background check,” the statement read, according to the Holland Sentinel. “There was nothing on the background check that prevented him from being hired by Grand Rapids Building Services and being assigned as night time custodian.”
Press has reached out to Grand Rapids Building Services for comment and is awaiting a response.
Prostitution is criminalized in every U.S. state except Nevada, which enforces “specific guidelines,” according to the University of Minnesota Libraries.
Holland is located about 30 miles southwest of Grand Rapids.