Head Custodian at Brunswick Acres Elementary School Arrested for Theft of Computers from District

South Brunswick Police arrested the head custodian at Brunswick Acres Elementary School yesterday for stealing several electronic devices from the school district over a two-year span.

George Elliott, 55, of Marlboro, is facing charges of theft and theft of computer equipment following a two-year investigation by authorities.  The items stolen included several Apple laptop computers.

The thefts occurred sporadically throughout the district, but mainly targeted South Brunswick High School and Brunswick Acres Elementary School, police said.

After discovering the missing equipment, school officials notified police who put alerts on all of the serial numbers from the stolen computers.  Police said the break in the case occurred when one of the stolen laptops was turned in to Apple for repairs in late 2010.

Apple officials matched the serial number of the computer to one of the laptops that were stolen from the school district in 2008 and notified South Brunswick Police of the discovery.

South Brunswick Police Det. Jeff Russo then tracked the computer to a residence in Texas. After speaking with the Texas man who bought the computer, it was learned that he had purchased it online through eBay. The eBay account was then linked back to Elliott, a 20-year employee of the South Brunswick School District.

Elliott was arrested yesterday at 2 p.m. at the South Brunswick Board of Education Administrative Offices on Black Horse Lane. At that time, investigators also executed a search warrant at Elliott’s Marlboro residence.

During the search, investigators recovered another laptop reported stolen from the district in 2009 and also recovered an assault rifle from the residence, police said.

“These acts are outrageous given the time span Mr. Elliott has been abusing the public dollars," said South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka via release. "We will continue to work to identify and charge any persons who aided or assisted in these crimes."

Elliott is currently being lodged at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in lieu of $50,000 dollars bail.

“Mr. Elliott violated the trust of the school community and exploited his position for personal gain," said South Brunswick Superintendent Gary McCartney via release.  "We will do everything in our power to recover every single dime stolen from the school district."

South Brunswick Police are continuing to investigate the thefts and ask anyone with information to call Det. Russo at 732-329-4646.