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More Than One Way To Do A Background Check Lands Company In Court
October 15, 2013 posted by Steve Brownstein
A Muskogee, OK woman whose teenage daughter was assaulted by a convicted sex offender in 2011 has filed a civil suit against the man’s employer.
The woman and her daughter are seeking more than $10,000 from The Castle of Muskogee, according to court documents. The suit, filed in Muskogee County District Court, states that The Castle hired Darvin Wayne Gray, 50, despite his sexual assault convictions.
Gray had been convicted of two counts of lewd molestation and one of lewd proposal to a minor in 1998 in Wagoner County. He received a 10-year sentence with five years suspended.
The suit states that The Castle negligently hired and that staff members “knew or reasonably should have known” of Gray’s criminal background.
The suit states that the teen was “sexually and physically assaulted on numerous occasions” while she and Gray worked at The Castle. Gray pleaded guilty in October 2012 to the assault, according to court documents. The assault included rape by instrumentation, forcible oral sodomy and lewd molestation. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison with 20 of those years suspended.
Jeff Hiller, whose father owns The Castle, said he was unaware that Gray had a criminal past.
“From my understanding, that was checked into, and there weren’t any convictions,” Hiller said, noting that the background check was done by searching ODCR, an online court records system. “That’s our basic check.”
Gray’s criminal record is available through the Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ website and shows his prior convictions. Hiller said he did not view those records. He also said The Castle did not require potential employees to undergo background checks through the Muskogee Police Department.
“Not before that incident, anyway,” he said.
Editor's note: Why not the County Sheriff, too? And the State Police? Or the Muskogee Municipal Court, ad infinitum?
