A janitor at an elementary school in St. Paul who wrote lewd, anonymous notes to a 10-year-old was ordered to spend 60 days in custody.
A Ramsey County District Court judge delivered Oscar Herrera’s sentence Tuesday, about a month and a half after the 23-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of felony-level stalking for his conduct.
A second felony charge Herrera faced was dismissed.
The Richfield man can serve the time via electronic home monitoring or work release if determined eligible by his probation officer, court records say.
Herrera’s attorney, F. Clayton Tyler, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his client’s sentence.
St. Paul police began investigating Herrera’s case last April after receiving a report that a 10-year-old student at Wellstone Elementary discovered two disturbing anonymous notes left at her desk.
One of the notes offered to pay the girl if she left behind her underwear. On another occasion, a pair of underwear was placed inside her desk along with a note encouraging her to “try them on,” according to the criminal complaint filed against Herrera.
A handwriting expert and fingerprints left behind on the notes led investigators to Herrera.
Herrera was hired by St. Paul Public Schools in August 2016 and worked at Wellstone Elementary since October of that year, according to Jerry Skelly, a district spokesman.
He was placed on administrative leave after his arrest and is now on a leave of absence.