Among background checks, one of the easiest and most cost effective is the sexual offenders registry search. Most background checking services, within seconds can run a sexual offenders registry search which will return any criminal records and listings as sex offenders for any employment candidate.
From there it is simply a matter of sorting out common names, perhaps conducting the social security trace so that you can match your job candidate with the listed sexual offenders. If your job candidate does not have a common name, it is therefore that much easier to search and see if he is a registered sex offender and has any criminal records related to illegal sexual activity.
Like I said, it is one of the easiest background checks to run. And the cost of it is pretty cheap. What isn’t cheap is when a sex offender slips through the cracks and assaults, molests, or otherwise infringes upon another human being. It is particularly despicable when the other human being is a minor or child. And yet, despite an organization’s ability to run background checks like the sexual offender’s registry, we still find that employees are molesting staff or the children put in their charge.
According an an article in the Mercury News, a coach for USA Swimming just received a prison sentence of 40 years for having molested young swimmers put in his care for the past 30 years. These were kids put in his trust, and he betrayed that trust. He helped them learn how to swim, maybe, and he helped to disillusion them or at least partially ruin their lives.
Sexual molesters are toxic as hell in the workplace. Nobody wants them. Few understand why an adult has to go mess around with children in the same way. Most, rightly so, find it absolutely inexcusable. Yet, this continues to happen. Frequently, news headlines report yet another sexual offender that is caught molesting a kid. And then, and only then, sometimes, do they run a background check to discover the employee has been charged with prior offenses.
USA Swimming is the governing body for the sport. It is a sport with 300, 000 swimmers and 12,000 coaches, nationally. Many of these swimmers are kids. And, in fairness, most coaches are caring people who just want to help kids move forward in their attempt to achieve their dreams. If nothing else, they are intent on making them better swimmers. Most coaches are good people.
But every now and then you get a guy who takes advantage of their position of authority. He wasn’t the first one, and he won’t be the last. Child molesters are not limited to swimming, by any means. The Church right now is rife with controversy and as a background checking service we have seen where cities and public service groups have hired sexual offenders as well.
What we do wonder, is if USA Swimming had plans to implement background checks since 2005, then what is taking them so long to get it together. There may be bureaucratic machinations, and a whole lot of red tape, but still, the intend to conduct background screening began five years ago. I would suggest they move on it.
Because, according to the article in the Mercury News, investigators are starting to review what first appeared to be isolated allegations of sexual abuse and are searching for a pattern. USA Swimming is considering along with background checks establishing an anonymous hotline where abusive coaches and be reported without their swimmers fearing repercussions.
Sounds like a plan to me.
