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Lynchburg, VA - They are convicted sex-offenders who were working on Liberty University's campus. Now, because of ABC-13's investigation, State Police say they've opened up a criminal investigation.
It's been a chain reaction since November. That's when Liberty says that two men were let go because of information on Virginia's sex-offender registry. But when we asked State Police Wednesday, they told us the men still worked on campus.
David "Marcel" Johnson and Larry Jones, Jr. actually worked for Sodexho, the company that provides food service to LU. Jones was convicted of "Carnal Knowledge of a Child" in 2002. Johnson was convicted of rape in 1994.
Police say Johnson and Jones never reported being fired and that happened two months ago. That's when a Liberty law-school student learning to use the registry stumbled across these guys, then alerted the school.
Liberty's CEO tells us they immediately called Sodexho and told them Jones and Johnson could not work on campus. Liberty says it's their personal policy to do background checks and in the future you can bet their contractors will be required to do the same. They say the registry did the job.
Dr. Ron Godwin, CEO Liberty University (website) - "The fact that one of our students and looked into the registry and discovered this lapse, just simply means that the system works and that the correction was made in a very timely fashion."
But the registry still shows them as employed at Liberty. When we told State Police that, they began looking into it and say that they're opening up criminal investigations against Johnson and Jones. The men are required to notify State Police within 72 hours of any changes to their information.
But the story does not end here. We talked to one of those offenders, David "Marcel" Johnson. We'll have his side of the story on the ABC 13 Night Team at 11:00.
All they've dug up so far is that Sodexho hired a couple of sex offenders to mop floors, then LU told them they had to fire them, which they did. Shocking.
Oh this was worth all of the teasing in the six o'clock show (yeah there is video in the link ... but its hardly worth the effort).
Registered Sex Offender Talks About Not Registering
Friday January 05, 2007 12:03am Reporter: Courtney Robinson
Lynchburg, VA - They haven't worked on Liberty's campus since November. So, why are two convicted sex-offenders still registered as employees there on the Virginia Sex Offender Registry?
LU says they shouldn't be on the website, because they were fired. As part of an ABC-13 investigation, we talked to one of those men. And he wanted to tell his story.
Courtney - "Hey. Are you Marcel?"
David "Marcel" Johnson is a convicted rapist. He's been on the Virginia Sex-Offender registry since 1998. Courtney - "Have you re-registered?"
Marcel Johnson, Convicted Rapist - "I'll do it in like February."
The fact that he no longer works at Liberty University wasn't news to Johnson or his mother, Sallie Crawley. Sallie Crawley, Johnson's Mother - "He was working there and he got laid off because of that conviction."
In November, Liberty caught wind that Johnson and Larry Jones, Jr., convicted of Carnal Knowledge of a child, were both working on campus.
Dr. Ron Godwin, Liberty University - "That's no longer true and it hasn't been true since November."
Dr. Ron Godwin says the two worked for Sodexho, the company that handles food service at Liberty. A law school student blew the whistle. Godwin says the student was learning to navigate the sex-offender registry when he stumbled upon their profiles.
Godwin - "It worked and one of our students had done some research and so the system actually worked!"
But there's still a glitch, Sodexho confirms the men were let go in November, two months later, they're still registered as Liberty University employees. Johnson - "I was working over there, but I got laid off so."
So, Johnson and Jones are required to tell State Police of any changes within 72 hours. Something neither have done. State Police say their employment information is being updated and a criminal investigation now open.
First Sergeant Jeff Baker says this is just one of the many things he and other troopers for the State Police are trying to crack down on. They've created an enforcement unit for the registry, 40 troopers, four supervisors and Baker make up that unit. The first batch of troopers started work on Christmas Day.
- By ECC29
- By Purple Haize