Registered Sex Offender Found Volunteering in Kindergarten Class

A man volunteering at Harloe Elementary School in Arroyo Grande, California was discovered as having been a registered sex offender. He was discovered after one of the children’s parents, who works for the local police department, recognized the man’s name.

The man did not appear on the Megan’s Law website because his offense was considered low-level, and a “low-level” designation does not require that an offender’s name and photograph be listed on the website. He was arrested at Pirate’s Cove in 2001 for indecent exposure.

The school sent a letter home with children notifying parents that a sex offender had been supervising their children. Principal Juan Olivarria reported the man was never left alone with the children, and that no incidents have been reported.

A simple background check would have prevented this occurrence from happening. Even the local police department was surprised that no background check was completed. The school has stated that the man is no longer volunteering and is not allowed on the school campus any longer.

NJ School Volunteer Background Checks Bill Signed Into Law

Schools in Trenton, NJ are finally allowed to do background checks on volunteers thanks to a new law signed into effect on May 4^th. The law, dubbed the “School Volunteer Background Checks bill” will allow school boards, as an independent entity, to decide whether they want to check the criminal histories of their volunteers.

The background checks would cost tax payers $85 each, which is obviously a bargain for the piece of mind that comes with knowing that the volunteers at your child’s school don’t mean harm. As Sen. Nicholas Sacco, (D-Hudson) put it, “With all we hear in the news with child molesters and other others who mean harm toward children working in different child-serving groups, we can't be too careful when interviewing volunteers".

Some states have similar laws, allowing criminal background checks, or National Sex Offender database checks for volunteers, because we really can’t be too careful.