Former Iowa Professor Arrested on Meth, Child Porn Charges

John Muriello of Iowa City was placed on leave from his music professor position at the University of Iowa when an investigation was launched into his out-of-the-classroom habits in May.

He retired in July, and he is now being charged with "possession of child pornography and distribution of meth, resulting in death," according to KCRG. The site elaborates, saying he is "accused of buying meth, as much as an ounce or more at a time, from a supplier in California, and having multiple electronic devices containing thousands of pornographic media files."

The 65-year-old man was clearly involved in some dark things.

According to court documents, he and a man named Eric Hojka were in contact with a meth supplier via telephone and Zoom since some point in 2020. The documents also said that Hojka consistently abused meth and received the narcotic from Muriello regularly.

The investigation revealed that Hojka had reported finding someone unconscious at 6 a.m. on May 12, 2021. The individual was taken to a hospital where he died. An autopsy determined that the cause of death was methamphetamine intoxication.

In May of this year, Hojka pled guilty "to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, resulting in the death of the man," KCRG adds.

Muriello, the Emeritus Professor in Voice and Opera at the university, had his home searched in May of 2021, where authorities found plenty of evidence.

This is what Iowa News Now said of what was found in Muriello's home: "authorities found an encrypted hard drive that had 18,580 photos and 3,183 videos, that were mostly pornographic. Out of those, about 12,000 were of underage boys."

With his trial scheduled for December, Muriello is being held at the Muscatine County Jail without bond.

The allegations don't stop there for Muriello, either. In fact, they go back earlier than the previous charges.

According to the Daily Iowan, "On April 10, 2020, (the University of Iowa) allegedly received an email from a parent of a UI freshman regarding Muriello. The writer claimed their son allegedly attended a party at Muriello’s Iowa City residence where Muriello allegedly provided methamphetamines and used gamma-hydroxybutyrate to 'drug party goers to have sex with them,' according to a search warrant application."

The DEA says another name for gamma-hydroxybutyrate is the “date rape drug."

The article continues, saying Muriello allegedly sought out other younger adults, some as young as 17 years old to have sex. One instance includes a relationship with a 19-year-old Iowa student, where Muriello allegedly supplied the student with methamphetamine and had nonconsensual sex with this student on multiple occasions.