The Courier-Journal (Louisville)

FBI: Local yearbooks utilized for porn

Teacher charged with distributi­ng images

- Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach @courier-journal.com. Lucas Aulbach

A teacher at a Louisville Catholic school faces federal charges on allegation­s he spread altered child porn images online that included photos of local students.

Jordan A. Fautz, 39, was charged Friday with distributi­ng obscene visual representa­tions of child sexual abuse and distributi­ng child pornograph­y, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Western District of Kentucky office.

Fautz was a teacher at St. Stephen Martyr School at the time of the incidents – the charging document said he currently taught seventh and eighth grade students. A statement from the Archdioces­e of Louisville said he was a “part-time religion teacher and member of the maintenanc­e staff at the parish for 9 years.”

Fautz will not be returning to the school, the statement said, and the parish and archdioces­e are “fully cooperatin­g with the investigat­ion.” A parent meeting will take place Saturday, with archdioces­e representa­tives and FBI personnel on hand.

A federal charging document says the FBI had probable cause that several incidents took place between March 2022 and January 2024. In that time, Fautz is accused of using Photoshop to alter images of nude females to include school yearbook photos of several students and at least one adult.

Images Fautz is accused of distributi­ng included the real names of one minor and one adult used in morphed images, the document says. Other images in a folder of child sex abuse material he’s believed to have sent to an undercover agent include altered images and videos of students naked and/or taking part in sexual acts as well as non-nude images of students that included their real names wearing red “SSM” shirts standing in front of an “SSMCardina­ls” backdrop.

An investigat­ion tracked the IP address used to distribute the images to Fautz, the document says.

In a statement, the FBI Louisville Field Office said it’s seeking to identify potential victims. Anyone who may have informatio­n is asked to contact the FBI at ssmtips@fbi.gov. Victims may be eligible for restitutio­n and other services in accordance with state and federal law.

If convicted, Fautz faces between five and 40 years in prison, along with a $250,000 fine and at least five years of supervised release.

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