by Nick Fishman

I’m sorry, but this is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard (okay, I hear many stupid things every day especially from me, but this is up there).  The state of Virginia has a law that mandates that day camps perform background checks on their employees.  Most of us would agree that this is a good law.  It allows camps to weed out those who have been convicted of crimes that would disqualify applicants from employment, especially Sex Offenders.

Evidently, that law (nor any similar laws) does not apply to overnight camps where it would seem there is even greater opportunity for predators.

See excerpt from the article Summer Camp Concerns below.  This should disgust any parent who entrusts their children to overnight camps.

A former boy scout leader, Rodney Almond, served time for sodomizing a 15-year old camper at a Surry county boy scout camp.  He also pleaded guilty to similar charges in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.  But if you think this can’t happen closer to home, think again.
The case shows a loophole in virginia’s requirements for camps. That’s because Virginia law does not require residential camps to run criminal background checks on employees.

Think someone ought to revisit this moronic loop hole?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 10:40 am and is filed under Articles, Background Checks in States, Sex Offenders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.