JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A food service worker at Matthew Gilbert Middle School was arrested and charged with eleven counts of child sexual abuse material.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested 35-year-old Allen Michael Scott on April 23 after a three-year-long investigation.
Duval County Public Schools tells us that Gilbert was an employee of Chartwells, a third-party food service provider that operates in all Duval County Public Schools. They say that Gilbert was employed a little over two weeks before his arrest, from April 2 to April 23.
The arrest report shows that JSO began this investigation in April 2023. They requested search warrants from both Comcast and Google, leading investigators to uncover hundreds of photos and videos depicting exceptionally heinous CSAM.
Chris Carson, a Criminal Defense Attorney not associated with this case, says that these investigations can range from six to 18 months. He says there could be a number of reasons why this investigation took three years.
“It can be a very time-consuming process depending on how much data there is that has to be analyzed, depending on the nature in which it is stored, because there can be various ways that certain data can be stored,” Carson said. “Which actually makes it very hard to try and break into or open up their files that can be encrypted.”
He also says that because so many investigations are protected, it can be difficult for a school or business to know if an investigation like this is going on behind the scenes.
“Even as an attorney, sometimes it’s really difficult to know where an investigation is as the investigation is ongoing,” Carson said. “Once there is an arrest and the legal process really begins in earnest, then we have a lot more information.”
The following is Chartwells’ statement:
“Chartwells’ commitment to the safety and well-being of students has and always will be our top priority. In alignment with school district and state guidelines, all employees must submit to and pass a pre-employment criminal history screening, which includes fingerprinting conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Additionally, our employees are required to submit to a pre-employment background check conducted by a private, third-party company.
“We recently learned that one of our former employees was arrested in connection with an active police investigation. At this time, it is our understanding that the alleged criminal behavior occurred wholly outside of the workplace. Despite this individual’s pre-employment background check being clear and the alleged incident occurring outside of work, any conduct that calls into question our ability to maintain a safe environment for students will not be tolerated. As a result, the individual is no longer permitted to work on school district property, and we have terminated the individual’s employment.
“We take this situation very seriously and fully intend to work with local authorities should they need any additional information.”
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