District 49 custodian accused of internet sexual exploitation of a child

A custodian at Woodmen Hills Elementary is on unpaid administrative leave following his arrest, according to District 49.

The district says that Dylan Kern was arrested Tuesday, April 26, 2016, after allegedly sending inappropriate messages to an undercover investigator who was posing as a minor.

Kern is facing two counts of internet sexual exploitation of a child, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

According to an arrest affidavit, Kern sent a photo of his naked genitalia to a person who he believed to be an underage teen. That person was actually an investigator with the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office Child Sex Offender Internet Investigations unit.

The DA’s office says Kern also asked the investigator who was posing as a teen to send him “naughty” pictures of her genitalia.

The affidavit goes on to allege that Kern said he could go into the custodial closet at the elementary school where he worked and take another picture.

Investigators from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which covers Jefferson and Gilpin counties, traveled to Woodmen Hills Elementary to arrest Kern. He was transported to the Jefferson County Jail.

District 49 says that Kern is assigned to the evening shift at Woodmen Hills. He passed a background check before being hired last year. District 49 has not received any reports of Kern engaging in inappropriate behavior with students at the school.

“Our first contact with the investigators occurred at the school, as they arrived to make the arrest,” said District 49 spokesperson Matt Meister. “Our safety and security team will continue to cooperate with the investigation and our law enforcement partners,” Meister said.

District 49 is urging anyone with information that may be important to this investigation to contact their school principal, law enforcement or Safe2Tell at 1-877-542-7233 .