Background checks in question for Savannah-Chatham Schools

Posted 8:06AM on Monday 25th March 2002 ( 22 years ago )

SAVANNAH - A federal lawsuit has raised questions about the hiring of substitute teachers by the Savannah-Chatham Public School district. A substitute teacher, 22-year-old Darnique Jefferson, was hired in 1998 and later pleaded guilty to three charges, including statutory rape. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Jefferson, on his background check form, listed one arrest a 1995 sexual battery charge in Virginia that had been dismissed. Three years later, the form on file with the school district had been altered. And that discrepancy could prove decisive in a federal lawsuit against the district alleging sex discrimination, negligent hiring and retention, and fraud. Even though Jefferson admitted the arrest, the school district hired him. Six months later, in April 1999, Jefferson was charged with raping a 12-year-old student who attended Pearl Smith Learning Center, the alternative school where he taught. When her parents suspected she was pregnant, they went to the police. The girl eventually had an abortion. Jefferson was fired and pleaded guilty to three charges in 1999 to statutory rape, child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes and was sentenced to three years in prison. He is currently an inmate at Rutledge State Prison in Columbus. The girl's mother filed a lawsuit in July 2001 against the school district, claiming sex discrimination, deprivation of federal constitutional rights, conspiracy and negligent hiring, retention and supervision. Her lawyer then subpoenaed Jefferson's employment file, including the background check form. However, that copy showed no prior arrests. Another copy on file with police did. No matter what happens involving the lawsuit, the case raises doubts about the screening process for teachers and the accountability of school officials. While the lawsuit is pending, school administrators are not allowed to talk about the case publicly. And the court depositions and documents that are available provide just as many questions as answers about what happened and no assurance that it won't happen again. In June, 1999, when Jefferson was being investigated by the Savannah Police Department, officials asked the school district for a copy of his complete employment file, which included the security check authorization form. On it, Jefferson provided his full name, address, date of birth and Social Security number. He also had to answer the question whether he had ever been arrested and wrote that he had been arrested for sexual battery in December 1995 in Virginia. He also wrote that the case was dismissed. But when the victim's lawyer, Bill Mitchell, requested Jefferson's employment records he got a different form. The one he got had the same handwriting although it was darker and instead of it saying ``Yes,'' Jefferson had been arrested, the blank marked ``No'' was checked. School officials don't dispute that someone changed the form before the district gave a copy to Mitchell, but said in court documents that they have no idea who did it.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/3/196979