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- Jun 27, 2011
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When elderly World War II veterans go to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to receive urgent care, they may be greeted by child molesters, ex-convicts, men with face tattoos and gun-wielding rapists.
Eleven sex offenders list the John D. Dingell VA Hospital in Detroit as their work address. Within the VA’s regional office for Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, 30 sex predators work at nine facilities, according to the records.
At least 11 of the 30 are full-fledged, standard members of the federal workforce, but others are likely veterans taking part in rehabilitative work programs that pay them minimum wage to work as housekeepers and other laborers at the hospital.
Three men listing the Detroit hospital as their work address are currently in violation of their sex offender registry requirements and are being sought by authorities.
Reginald Furlow, a 59-year-old whose face is covered with scars and tattoos, was convicted in 2006 of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree (injury to incapacitated victim), and is wanted for failing to check in with the registry in 2016.
Barney Lavel Smith shares many of the same issues as Furlow, sporting a face covered in scars, was recently working at the Detroit hospital, and is non-compliant. He used a weapon to carry out his sex crime, as did Melvin Brown-Bey, who is also non-compliant with the terms of his release.
The state of Michigan is begging citizens to “report information on the whereabouts of this offender.” The government-run hospital may have such information, but it couldn’t be more protective of the criminals it employs.
“We cannot confirm anything. As it is a violation of privacy laws, we are unable to provide any comment or information on specific employees. The Detroit VA has two certified adjudicators who review background investigations for every person we employ,” says Alysse Mengason.
Mengason asked The Daily Caller News Foundation not to use her name with her quote, even though she is paid to be the spokeswoman for the hospital.
She would not explain the purpose of paying multiple people to do background checks, if even turning up the worst possible red flags didn’t stop criminals from being hired. She also would not say what the hospital’s policy was concerning the hiring and firing criminals.
Mengason’s claims about the Privacy Act are unfounded, and some other hospitals did not misrepresent it to protect criminals, but instead explained their positions.
The Dayton, Ohio hospital does currently employ Thomas DeJournett, who the state deems a “Habitual Sex Offender” and who was convicted of rape and kidnapping in 1981, along with multiple male and female underage victims, its spokesman Ted Froats said.
“He works as a Medical Support Assistant. Medical Support Assistants assist our medical providers with office administration – answering phones, scheduling appointments, processing paperwork. They do not have one-on-one encounters alone with patients,” Froats explained.
“All employees are fingerprinted and undergo a background check prior to their employment. When these background checks reveal a potential red flag, investigators consider how applicable the red flag is to the specific job the applicant would be hired to do, and how much time has passed without a repeat offense. In Mr. DeJournett’s case, he was hired in 2005 — 24 years after his 1981 conviction,” he concluded.
Another Dayton employee, Antoine Hall, was convicted of creating pornography depicting a 13-year old in 2014. Hall is wearing a VA badge around his neck in the sex offender registry picture, meaning he was still going to work after being sentenced. Hall even received a bonus in 2015, federal pay records show.
But the spokesman said he has since left. Still, the 34-year-old was already a career convict at the time VA hired him in 2012, so his newest conviction shouldn’t be surprising. He had previous convictions for forgery, theft and disorderly conduct; he served jail time and was later a wanted absconder.
VA Employees Include Child Molesters, Rapists and Kidnappers |
Eleven sex offenders list the John D. Dingell VA Hospital in Detroit as their work address. Within the VA’s regional office for Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, 30 sex predators work at nine facilities, according to the records.
At least 11 of the 30 are full-fledged, standard members of the federal workforce, but others are likely veterans taking part in rehabilitative work programs that pay them minimum wage to work as housekeepers and other laborers at the hospital.
Three men listing the Detroit hospital as their work address are currently in violation of their sex offender registry requirements and are being sought by authorities.
Reginald Furlow, a 59-year-old whose face is covered with scars and tattoos, was convicted in 2006 of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree (injury to incapacitated victim), and is wanted for failing to check in with the registry in 2016.
Barney Lavel Smith shares many of the same issues as Furlow, sporting a face covered in scars, was recently working at the Detroit hospital, and is non-compliant. He used a weapon to carry out his sex crime, as did Melvin Brown-Bey, who is also non-compliant with the terms of his release.
The state of Michigan is begging citizens to “report information on the whereabouts of this offender.” The government-run hospital may have such information, but it couldn’t be more protective of the criminals it employs.
“We cannot confirm anything. As it is a violation of privacy laws, we are unable to provide any comment or information on specific employees. The Detroit VA has two certified adjudicators who review background investigations for every person we employ,” says Alysse Mengason.
Mengason asked The Daily Caller News Foundation not to use her name with her quote, even though she is paid to be the spokeswoman for the hospital.
She would not explain the purpose of paying multiple people to do background checks, if even turning up the worst possible red flags didn’t stop criminals from being hired. She also would not say what the hospital’s policy was concerning the hiring and firing criminals.
Mengason’s claims about the Privacy Act are unfounded, and some other hospitals did not misrepresent it to protect criminals, but instead explained their positions.
The Dayton, Ohio hospital does currently employ Thomas DeJournett, who the state deems a “Habitual Sex Offender” and who was convicted of rape and kidnapping in 1981, along with multiple male and female underage victims, its spokesman Ted Froats said.
“He works as a Medical Support Assistant. Medical Support Assistants assist our medical providers with office administration – answering phones, scheduling appointments, processing paperwork. They do not have one-on-one encounters alone with patients,” Froats explained.
“All employees are fingerprinted and undergo a background check prior to their employment. When these background checks reveal a potential red flag, investigators consider how applicable the red flag is to the specific job the applicant would be hired to do, and how much time has passed without a repeat offense. In Mr. DeJournett’s case, he was hired in 2005 — 24 years after his 1981 conviction,” he concluded.
Another Dayton employee, Antoine Hall, was convicted of creating pornography depicting a 13-year old in 2014. Hall is wearing a VA badge around his neck in the sex offender registry picture, meaning he was still going to work after being sentenced. Hall even received a bonus in 2015, federal pay records show.
But the spokesman said he has since left. Still, the 34-year-old was already a career convict at the time VA hired him in 2012, so his newest conviction shouldn’t be surprising. He had previous convictions for forgery, theft and disorderly conduct; he served jail time and was later a wanted absconder.
VA Employees Include Child Molesters, Rapists and Kidnappers |
