A former kindergarten director, formerly associated with the Polish People’s Party (PSL), led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz since 2015, has been detained by police on charges of pedophilia.

The arrest of 54-year-old Paweł C. was made as part of Operation Hellfire, which targeted pedophilia last month across the country, writes Do Rzeczy. The District Prosecutor’s Office in Tarnobrzeg, along with officers from the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime, participated in the operation.

Two other people were also detained in Tarnobrzeg and charged, including “a Border Guard officer and a member of the management staff of a local government institution,” investigators said in an official statement.

Investigators accuse Paweł C. of recording and disseminating pornographic content involving minors, as well as possessing nearly 100 image files and over 150 video files containing pornographic content involving minors.

As part of the operation, a search was carried out in the residential premises used by the above-mentioned persons, during which IT devices and data carriers containing paedophilic content were seized.

“Furthermore, a camouflaged camera was found in the bathroom of a 54-year-old resident of Tarnobrzeg, with which the suspect was recording members of his family while bathing. At the request of the prosecutor, the District Court in Tarnobrzeg imposed a preventive measure in the form of temporary arrest for a period of three months against the suspect, a 54-year-old resident of Tarnobrzeg,” the statement read.

“Tygodnik Nadwiślański” claims that the detained 54-year-old Paweł C. was a kindergarten principal and then worked as head of the Education, Health, Social Affairs, and Promotion Department at the Tarnobrzeg County Office, which was governed by the Polish People’s Party (PSL).

In 2019, he also allegedly ran for the Sejm on the PSL ticket.

Pawel C. is in pre-trial detention for three months and, if found guilty, will face up to 15 years in prison.

“I’m shocked; this is the most disgusting crime I can think of. We haven’t officially received any information from the authorities. I hope his work at the preschool will be investigated and we’ll be informed of the findings. I’m convinced that the children at the preschool are under the constant supervision of teachers; it would be difficult for them to engage in any criminal behavior without attracting attention,” said the mayor of Tarnobrzeg, Łukasz Nowak, in an interview with Tygodnik Nadwiślański, as quoted by wPolityce.

Paweł Bartoszek, starost of Tarnobrzeg from the Polish People’s Party, told Tygodnik Nadwiślański: “This is a huge surprise and shock for us. He was our employee for a short time, less than two months. The police searched his room and seized his computer equipment. For the sake of the injured parties and the ongoing investigation, we cannot say anything more.”