Tag: Sexually Assaulted

Minnesota School Hires Sex Offender Coach Due to Weak Background Check Policy A former volleyball coach for a Forest Lake, Minnesota high school has been convicted of sexually assaulting multiple students after being hired by the school despite being convicted for a similar offense. This has resulted in a lawsuit being filed against the school by one of the victims, alleging that the school lacked suitable background check policies to prevent incidents like this from occurring. In Wisconsin, the coach had previously been sentenced to fourth-degree criminal misconduct due to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old. Despite this, the high school hired the coach as part of the school's girls volleyball coaching staff, and he repeated this behavior. The former coach will now serve more than two years in prison, be registered as a predatory offender, and be placed on supervised release for the remainder of his life. Now a former student has filed a lawsuit against both the school and the former coach for more than $50,000 as well as other damages. The suit accuses the school of failing to set any standards for selecting suitable background check providers. Instead, the suit alleges that the school relied solely on staff judgment. This resulted in the coach in question paying for his own background check for $2, which indicated that he had no criminal history at all. As a result, the school never discovered that the coach had previously been convicted relating to a 16-year-year-old he was coaching at the time. Reports from investigators indicate that there were likely more victims at the time as well. All of this information could have easily been discovered through a basic criminal background check. However, the report submitted by the coach incorrectly showed no criminal history and was accepted. As a result, the lawsuit the school is now facing states that it should have known that the coach was potentially dangerous to the students, including the victim, and by hiring him, it put all of them in harm's way. The school has denied the allegations, including all allegations related to its background check policy. It has refused to comment aside from stating that it is compliant with all applicable laws. This case demonstrates the importance of performing background checks on all potential staff, particularly in positions working with vulnerable populations. This can prevent making mistakes in hiring that can result in harm as well as placing the employer at risk of liability. Don’t leave your organizations security up to chance. Pre-employ makes background checks easy and reliable. Speak with a compliance expert today.

Tag: Sexually Assaulted

Minnesota School Hires Sex Offender Coach Due to Weak Background Check Policy

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