School Volunteer Sentenced to Prison for Sexual Assault

In Newark, New Jersey, Glenn Harp was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 7-year old girl in the elementary school where she attended and at his apartment.

The assaults took place between September 2007 and January 2008. They were uncovered when the little girl reported them to her grandmother.

During the course of the investigation, authorities learned that Harp had a prior offense and a proper background check was not conducted before placing him in the elementary school's after-school program. His prior offense was "Endanger Welfare of a Child" which he was found guilty of in 2000.

Harp will serve 15 years in prison and is required to serve 85% of his term before coming eligible for parole. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and will serve parole for the rest of his life. The family of the victim intends to sue Grove Street Elementary and the community group which runs the after-school program.

An inexpensive, quick background could have been done by this school and therefore would have saved this child from the harm that befell her. The prosecutor in the case was quoted as saying, "This case represents a stark reminder to organizations who hire volunteers to supervise children that the proper screening of candidates should always be done."

Conduct Your Own Background Check

Did you know you can obtain your own background check to provide to volunteer organizations you'd like to do work for?

IamScreened.com launched this service in order to provide you with the very same type of background check an employer or volunteer organization can obtain. It offers three different levels of background checks on its website ranging from simple identity verification and criminal records to a full spectrum of employment and education verifications. You get to pick which package works the best for you.

Another component making IamScreened.com beneficial in your volunteer work search is that you can actually provide any number of organizations with an authorization code so that they can go to the website themselves and look up your report. You do have the option of providing them with a printed copy of your background check, but giving a volunteer organization the added confidence of being able to see your report on the IamScreened.com website first hand may give you an edge on the other applicants.

Check out their website and give yourself an edge over other volunteer applicants!

'Operation Santa Claus' Shut Down Due to Sex Offender

Operation Santa Claus, a program initiated and offered by the United States Postal Service, was shut down for three full days and was just reopened with new rules.

The program was set up to assist needy children at Christmas time. Children would write letters to Santa and citizens could pick up letters at a local post office, buying gifts on the wish lists and delivering them in person to the children and their families.

Unfortunately in Maryland, a volunteer who picked up one of the letters was recognized as being a registered sex offender. Carl Ranger pled guilty to one of 18 counts of child abuse in December, 2000. The USPS intervened; it intercepted the letter before the man could answer it and shut down the program for three days while it made changes to the program.

When the program restarted, the child's family name had been blacked out as well as the family's address. Now, instead of the volunteers delivering the gifts themselves, they wrap the gifts, fill out forms and give them to the post office to be delivered.

Next year, volunteers will pick the gifts and pay the postage, but a computer will match the letters with the addresses and the post office will continue to deliver the presents. The USPS believes these changes will still allow for the spirit of giving at Christmastime, and also help keep the children safe.

Another Sex Offender Caught Volunteering with Children's Sports Program

Esmond Frazier, a registered sex offender, was caught on video volunteering at the Pine Forest Athletic Association park in Jacksonville, Florida at a youth football game.

Frazier possesses a criminal record of sex crimes in 2006 and lewd assault on a child in 2005. He admitted to having sex numerous times with a youth under the age of 15. At the time, he was an assistant volleyball coach and after-school tutor at Lee High School.

Frazier was placed on probation for 3 years and is required to register as a sex offender; however, during his probationary period, he was back on the field, volunteering at football games for youth.

The president of the youth football conference stated that they perform background checks on all volunteers supervising children. Because Frazier's volunteer position did not require the supervision of children, but rather holding chains, the school did not require a background check on him.

Regardless of the fact that Frazier was not supervising children directly, he was still in close contact with them and very soon after he was placed on probation. While the youth football conference did not state the reason for not running background checks on all of its employees, one hopes that this incident will lead to that result.

Hospice Volunteer Refuses to Submit to Background Check

A man in Middlesex, Connecticut will most likely lose his position as a volunteer at a local hospice because he refuses to submit to a background check. Donald McGinnis has been volunteering at the hospice every Christmas for 18 years.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid have implemented a new law requiring background checks for all volunteers. The law does not make allowances or exceptions for those people who have been volunteering longer than others.

McGinnis believes that the law has "crossed the line" and he should not be checked because he has nothing to hide & was in the military for six years.

Because the hospice relies completely on funding from the government, it has no choice but to comply with the law. Maura McQueeney, executive director of home care for the hospice was quoted as saying, “Unfortunately, the federal government doesn’t look at our employees that way,” she said. “They look at our program and for 100 percent compliance. So we would love to be able to plead his case for them, it’s hard wired now. It’s a federal regulation, and there is some merit to it, that we’re seeing patients at their most vulnerable and they’re allowing us to care for them.”

In my opinion, it's sad that someone who has done so much good for so long won't look at the bigger picture and the long-term benefit of background checks. If McGinnis truly has nothing to hide than what's the worry? He may know that nothing will come back, but can he say the same for all of the volunteers he has worked with (or will work with)?

School Volunteer Convicted of Child Abuse

Penny West served as a volunteer every day at an elementary school in Tucson, Arizona, despite being found guilty of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause death in early August

Tucson Unified School District volunteers are not subjected to fingerprinting or background checks. Rather, they must disclose their criminal histories, and then the decision whether or not to allow a person with a criminal history to volunteer is left up to the principal of the school.

West and her husband, Randall West, will be sentenced on September 22nd. Both face prison time. The jury found that West acted with criminal negligence when she did not seek medical attention for the 16-month old foster child in her care. Pathologists determined that the little girl, Emily, died of blunt-force trauma to her head. West claims that Emily fell backward and hit her head, which the defense doctors said was plausible. The state's doctors contended the injury was a result of being severely shaken or that Emily was struck with something in the head.

The principal of the school where West volunteered, Chad Knippen, agreed to be a character witness on behalf of Penny West, but was never actually called to do so at the trial. He explained that West has been helping the school for years with filing, copying and putting bulletin boards together. She did not work directly with the students.

Tight budgets are a large reason why schools utilize volunteers to assist them with many tasks. However, if schools become more reliant on volunteers, they also need to rely on background checks to protect children.

Volunteer Coach with Criminal Record Arrested Again

Antwan Burnell, a former player and volunteer for the North Charleston High School basketball team in South Carolina, was arrested this past weekend for driving under the influence and drug possession.

Because the school system implemented a new policy requiring background checks on volunteers, even without this arrest Burnell would have been banned from volunteering based on his multiple previous drug charges and the prison time he served for crack-cocaine possession.

Burnell played on the basketball team and helped them to a state championship in 1997. However, after graduation, he was arrested multiple times for drug possession and had a charge of aggravated assault. During the 2006-2007 school year, Burnell worked as a volunteer statistician for the basketball team.

School officials have stated that Burnell will not be allowed near the students at the high school and his previous record would have prevented him from coming back as a volunteer as they have begun the background check process.