May 19, 2026 – Madera County Sheriff’s Office officials report that the Investigations Division received two CyberTips from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the suspected possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) occurring in Madera County.

During the investigation, detectives identified 34-year-old Joshua Lee Hefner as the suspect in the case. Hefner is employed by Madera Unified School District and was assigned to Dixieland Elementary School as a part time cafeteria playground assistant at the time of the investigation.

On May 18, 2026, detectives with the Madera County Sheriff’s Office, working in coordination with the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), executed a search warrant at a residence in the area of Avenue 18 ½ and Road 19 in Madera.

During the search, investigators located electronic devices belonging to Hefner that contained CSAM. Detectives contacted Hefner at Dixieland Elementary School, where he was taken into custody.

Based on preliminary forensic analysis of the seized devices, investigators have not identified any Dixieland Elementary School students as victims at this time.

All electronic devices associated with Hefner were seized for further examination as part of the ongoing investigation.

The Madera County Sheriff’s Office encourages anyone with information regarding this case or potential victims to please contact Detective Eder Andrade at 559-517-7997.

Tips may also be emailed to: MCSOTip@maderacounty.com. Anonymous tips may be made through Valley Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7867), or by texting “Tip MaderaSO” followed by your message to 888777.
Tips may also be made on the Madera County Sheriff’s Mobile App: MaderaSheriffApp.com.

The suspect photo is not posted in accordance with PC 13665. We encourage you to watch for the stories on our local partner media pages for current booking photos.

Source: Madera County Sheriff’s Office