The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office in California conducted an undercover child sex sting operation.
The office arrested two men as part of the operation. Both men were previously registered sex offenders.
The operation was led by the Yuba County Sheriff and District Attorney in partnership with the Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. https://www.kcra.com/article/2-arrested-in-undercover-child-sex-sting-sacramento-sheriff/62535331 (Oct. 07, 2024).
Commentary
The details of this matter are disturbing. According to the above cited source:
A Sacramento sheriff's deputy posed as a sex trafficker who was selling a child in a chat room for the operation.
The detective reportedly chatted online with 58-year-old Gipson. Authorities said Gipson arranged to buy a 10-year-old girl and told the office he had served time in prison for child sex abuse. He said he was no longer required to register as a sex offender, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said.
Gipson also planned to include his friend, 81-year-old Kenneth Lorenz, authorities said. Gipson was taken into custody on the day of the planned meeting.
A search of Lorenz's home found more than 1,000 files on his computer of child abuse material. The sheriff's office said Lorenz admitted to abusing children without being caught.
Lorenz had previous convictions for indecent exposure in 1966 and 1997, and for sexual battery in 1984. The offenses required registration as a sex offender for 10 years.
Gipson was previously convicted for two felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 in 1991. In 2023, he successfully petitioned to no longer be required to be a registered sex offender for life, the sheriff's office said.
Both men were actively seeking to "buy" children. Both were convicted of serious sex crimes. Both were once listed on the sex offender registry. However, Gipson was taken off the registry in 2023. Lorenz was also on the registry, but was no longer required to register after registering for just 10 years.
Any organization that would have performed a background check by solely looking at the California sex offender registry would have had a negative result on either of these men.
The takeaway for organizations that work with children is that performing a background check by checking your state's sex offender registry is not proof that an adult is safe with children. Organizations that work with children must check the sex offender registry only as a first step followed by many additional steps before allowing adults to work with or near children.
Importantly, check with your local counsel. Employers are allowed to search sex offender registries and to discover whether an applicant is a registered sex offender. However, different states have different restrictions how an employer can use the information.
Federal law requires states to set and enforce childcare licensing requirements to ensure your child's health and safety in a program. Required background checks are key.
According to an official website of the U.S. government, childcare.gov, here are considerations for performing background checks:
- Who Must Have a Background Check?
- "All adults who work or live in a family childcare home
- All childcare center staff, including directors, teachers, caregivers, bus drivers, custodians, kitchen staff, and administrative employees
- Every adult volunteering in the program who will have unsupervised access to your child
- Other adults who may come into the program and will have unsupervised access to your child, such as therapists and art, dance, or sports instructors
- How Often?
- Before a staff member is hired and then at least once every five years
- What Is Specifically Required To Be Checked?
- "A national FBI criminal history check using fingerprints
- A search of the National Crime Information Center's National Sex Offender Registry
- A search of the following state registries and databases where the childcare staff member currently lives and each state where the staff member has lived in the past 5 years:
- State criminal registry or repository (fingerprints are required in the state where the staff member currently lives and are optional in other states)
- State sex offender registry or repository
- State-based child abuse and neglect registry and database
There may be additional state requirements. Check your state's requirements for licensed childcare programs by selecting your state or territory. https://childcare.gov/state-resources
