KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A former Olathe middle school janitor admitted to Mission police officers that he was addicted to searching for child pornography, according to a Johnson County Court affidavit.
John Houghton, 52, of Mission, is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child.
On Jan. 22, Houghton's wife noticed he got "weird" after she found a flash drive box inside a drawer in their home, per the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Houghton left for work at Mission Trail Middle School, she looked at the contents of the flash drive and found pictures of her adult friends in bikinis and nude images of children.
The woman reported Houghton to the police and he was arrested by a Mission police officer.
Houghton reportedly agreed to speak with officers without an attorney present and initially denied that he looked at nude pictures of children, but later admitted to searching the internet for such images.
Houghton allegedly claimed that he had an addiction to searching for nude images of children due to sexual assault he experienced as a minor.
After obtaining a search warrant, officers reportedly found child pornography on the flash drive, according to the affidavit.
The Olathe School District said Houghton was fired last week and had worked as a janitor at Mission Trail Middle School starting in 2022.
A judge set Houghton's bond at $50,000. He is not allowed contact with children under age 18 and cannot possess or use a computer or the internet.
He is scheduled for a hearing on Jan. 31 in Johnson County District Court.
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