(KTLA-TV) |
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- A special KTLA investigation found that convicted sex offenders were able to get jobs on K-through-12 campuses all throughout Southern California. And based on our findings, it's something that may be happening more often than you think.
Steven English and fellow convicted sex offender James Spry not only were on many school campuses, but - according to interviews - they were on some of those campuses while students were there too.
On the Megan's Law web site, English's offense is described as "lewd or lascivious acts" with a child under 14 years old, while Spry's offenses are described as "sexual battery" and "assault with intent to commit a specified sex offense."
Both men, until recently, worked for Baron Services of Chino, a company that does final cleanup and janitorial work on construction sites.
After learning about Steven English's sex offender status from KTLA, the El Monte Union High School District confirmed that English did work for two days on a project at Arroyo High School. However, the school district's superintendent, Nick Salerno, told us while English was there that he was "behind a fenced off area from students..." and "...under constant supervision."
Baron Services owner, Jeff Baron, also told us that English worked on a project for him at Coronado High School while students were there, and that Spry worked on a project at Indio's Shadow Hills High School while students were on that campus.
Messages left for numerous officials from the Indio and Coronado schools were not returned.
Court records reviewed by KTLA also indicate that Spry and English worked on several construction projects for LAUSD. While LAUSD wouldn't say whether the sex offenders were on any of its campuses at times students were there too, district officials told us that the district's policy requires that only the supervisor of a contractor work crew get a background check and get fingerprinted before coming on to campus. However, it's often left to the contractor to determine what - if any - background checks are done on the workers.
And under state law - which the El Monte and LAUSD district policies appear to follow - if school officials determine that a work crew will have "limited" contact with students, then contractors can bring workers on campus without doing any background checks at all. If that happens, LAUSD and El Monte Union High School District require that the workers with no background checks be continually supervised by the supervisor who did have a background check.
Still, Spry and English should not have been on any campuses with children. If they were, the Department of Corrections says, they were in violation of their parole. Spry denied to KTLA 5 News that he was ever on any campus where children were present. We couldn't ask English, since he's back in prison. The DOC says he violated his parole back in January by committing vandalism.
As for Jeff Baron, he says he knew that Spry and English were on parole and that they were convicted felons, but he says he didn't know they were sex offenders. He says he believed they were allowed to work on school campuses because he thought their parole agents had to approve any job they were hired for.
The DOC says parole agents do have to approve jobs - and they claim in this case - they did approve the work at Baron Services. However, parole agents say that Baron was told the two men were sex offenders, and that Baron told them they would only be working at new construction sites where no children would be present.
That's an accusation Baron strongly denies.
"Had I been informed by anyone of the nature of the offenses some of the parolees I hired had committed they would have never gone anywhere near any project I was working on where children were present," Baron told us in a statement.
State Assemblyman Curt Hagman of Chino Hills says this case illustrates why state laws about who can come on to a school campus need to be revisited.
Steven English and fellow convicted sex offender James Spry not only were on many school campuses, but - according to interviews - they were on some of those campuses while students were there too.
On the Megan's Law web site, English's offense is described as "lewd or lascivious acts" with a child under 14 years old, while Spry's offenses are described as "sexual battery" and "assault with intent to commit a specified sex offense."
Both men, until recently, worked for Baron Services of Chino, a company that does final cleanup and janitorial work on construction sites.
After learning about Steven English's sex offender status from KTLA, the El Monte Union High School District confirmed that English did work for two days on a project at Arroyo High School. However, the school district's superintendent, Nick Salerno, told us while English was there that he was "behind a fenced off area from students..." and "...under constant supervision."
Baron Services owner, Jeff Baron, also told us that English worked on a project for him at Coronado High School while students were there, and that Spry worked on a project at Indio's Shadow Hills High School while students were on that campus.
Messages left for numerous officials from the Indio and Coronado schools were not returned.
Court records reviewed by KTLA also indicate that Spry and English worked on several construction projects for LAUSD. While LAUSD wouldn't say whether the sex offenders were on any of its campuses at times students were there too, district officials told us that the district's policy requires that only the supervisor of a contractor work crew get a background check and get fingerprinted before coming on to campus. However, it's often left to the contractor to determine what - if any - background checks are done on the workers.
And under state law - which the El Monte and LAUSD district policies appear to follow - if school officials determine that a work crew will have "limited" contact with students, then contractors can bring workers on campus without doing any background checks at all. If that happens, LAUSD and El Monte Union High School District require that the workers with no background checks be continually supervised by the supervisor who did have a background check.
Still, Spry and English should not have been on any campuses with children. If they were, the Department of Corrections says, they were in violation of their parole. Spry denied to KTLA 5 News that he was ever on any campus where children were present. We couldn't ask English, since he's back in prison. The DOC says he violated his parole back in January by committing vandalism.
As for Jeff Baron, he says he knew that Spry and English were on parole and that they were convicted felons, but he says he didn't know they were sex offenders. He says he believed they were allowed to work on school campuses because he thought their parole agents had to approve any job they were hired for.
The DOC says parole agents do have to approve jobs - and they claim in this case - they did approve the work at Baron Services. However, parole agents say that Baron was told the two men were sex offenders, and that Baron told them they would only be working at new construction sites where no children would be present.
That's an accusation Baron strongly denies.
"Had I been informed by anyone of the nature of the offenses some of the parolees I hired had committed they would have never gone anywhere near any project I was working on where children were present," Baron told us in a statement.
State Assemblyman Curt Hagman of Chino Hills says this case illustrates why state laws about who can come on to a school campus need to be revisited.
