Sex offender slips past state school screening

Portland Press Herald, May 2, 2007

(excerpt) The state Department of Education is reviewing the way it certifies people to work in Maine schools after giving clearance to a registered sex offender who then applied for a custodian's job in Portland public schools.

The state department had issued an employment approval form to the man, who lives in Scarborough, after putting him through a fingerprinting and screening process required by Maine law since 2000.

A spokesman for the department said a new employee had overlooked the lengthy criminal record provided by Maine State Police when the man was fingerprinted and screened.

Portland school officials learned that the man had been convicted of unlawful sexual conduct with a child under age 14 when they conducted their own criminal background check as a standard practice.

School officials and others say the error is a wake-up call to school districts who are counting on the state's fingerprinting and screening process to ferret out potential employees who may be a danger to children.

"I was horrified," said Joline Hart, human resources director for Portland schools. "We always do a criminal-records check. This time we got back page after page of criminal offenses, including a picture of him on the sex offenders Web site."