A Will County judge allowed a former Joliet school janitor to be placed on home confinement and electronic monitoring as he awaits trial in a child sex abuse materials case.

Jeremy Ledesma, 23, of Joliet, was fired on Wednesday from Joliet Public Schools District 86 following his Jan. 8 arrest on a charge of child sex abuse materials.

The decision from Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak on Thursday will allow Ledesma’s release from jail with restrictions on his movements.

Bertani-Tomczak ordered Ledesma to have no unsupervised contact with minors in any place, and he must not have access to the internet while his case is pending.

Bertani-Tomczak said the SAFE-T Act required her to determine whether there are no conditions other than detention that could protect the public.

The judge found there were conditions that could protect the public, such as home confinement and electronic monitoring. Ledesma cannot leave his home unless it is for legal, medical or religious purposes.

The issue that was key to Bertani-Tomczak’s ruling was Ledesma had been free from police custody since the investigation began last May, and he remained free after police searched his residence last September.

The charges against Ledesma were not filed until last week.

Ledesma’s attorney, Kristine Honiotes, said it was “disingenuous” for prosecutors to request Ledesma’s detention when police conducted the search warrant, and Ledesma was allowed to be free from custody during the investigation.

Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Capelli said the Will County Sheriff’s Office needed to conduct an investigation and analyze the electronic evidence before charges were filed.

On Oct. 3, detectives received forensic information that showed several evidence items believed to be child sexual abuse material were located on Ledesma’s devices, according to Will County Undersheriff Dan Jungles.

The case was submitted to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office for a review of charges on Oct. 8, Jungles said.

Capelli said Ledesma should remain detained in jail because the charges alleged he intended to distribute the unlawful material and he had a video of children at a playground on his phone.

Capelli said there were no conditions that could mitigate the risks of Ledesma’s pretrial release, and he suggested Ledesma could purchase a phone and continue to video record children.

Capelli said Ledesma was on court supervision in a separate battery case while the alleged offenses took place.

Honiotes said Ledesma had been fired from his job at District 86, which meant he would not return to the schools at all.

Honiotes said Ledesma had not been charged in connection with the videos of children at the playground.

Capelli said while the conduct was “uncharged,” he asked the judge to consider the “totality of the circumstances” regarding those videos and what it says about Ledesma’s state of mind.

Honiotes said Ledesma would be eligible for probation in the child sex abuse materials case.

In a 2025 case involving a charge of child sex abuse materials, Jasen Zurisk, 49, of Beecher had been granted pretrial release by Bertani-Tomczak.

Zurisk’s case concluded last December with him receiving 48 months of probation after he pleaded guilty to the offense, court records show.