A Manteca Unified School District classified employee was arrested on Wednesday in Modesto for sex crimes against a minor.

Anthony Martin Minatre, 51, was employed as a janitor at Stella Brockman Elementary School when he was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Jail on charges of rape with the use of force and committing a lewd act against a 14 or 15-year-old child when the person committing the crime is at least 10-years older than the child.

Minatre is being held on $300,000 bail and does not yet have a scheduled court date according to booking information made available by Stanislaus County.

Even though the crime occurred in a neighboring county and did not involve a Manteca Unified student, the district released a statement on Thursday upon learning of the crime and said that they will fully cooperate with authorities.

“Although the arrest did not occur on school property or while performing any actions of the district, it is our District’s intent to fully cooperate with the Modesto Police Department,” the statement released by Manteca Unified read. “The employee will not be on campus during the investigation.

“Additionally, we will aggressively pursue appropriate administrative action up to the removal of the employee. The safety and well-being of our students is always our highest priority, and all safety policies and procedures continue to be followed.”

According to public records, Minatre has been employed at Manteca Unified since at least 2013 working each year as a custodian.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.