A Waukegan man arrested for alleged child phonography-related charges had been fired from a custodial job at Deerfield High School last year, District Township High School District 113 leadership said in a recent letter to the community.
The clarification may have been spurred on by news articles that seemed to indicate Ricardo Russell, had been working as a janitor at the Lake County high school until recently.
In a letter sent out to district families Monday evening, D113 Superintendent Chala Holland said the district had been made aware that Ricardo Russell, a “former third-shift custodian,” at Deerfield High School, had been arrested for allegedly disseminating child pornography, among other charges.
Holland said the district had not been contacted by law enforcement regarding Russell, and had “no detailed information about the charges.” They had only learned about his arrest after a news story earlier that day, and all their information was “based on court records and media reports.”
According to Holland, Russell was employed at Deerfield High School beginning December 12, 2023, before being put on administrative leave on June 13, 2024 and getting dismissed by the Board of Education on July 16, 2024. Russell worked the third shift, running from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., throughout his employment, she said.
The district is unaware of any allegations of criminal activity against Russell during his time working as custodian, Holland said.
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