concept of rehabilitation

[bednobs]

hi, i need some advice please. As part of an organisation i help run, we are running gig which will be attended by both adults (mainly) and some children. We are hiring some of the sound equipment from somebody, who will need to be there on the day to help us set it up. Today i recieved an email from someone i'd never heard of telling me about the criminal past of the person we are hiring from, including a link to yorkshire's police site, detailing his crime and punishment (he served a 4 month prison sentance around 12 years ago)
Unfortunately the crime was related to sexual offences to do with children. I truley believe in the concept of rehabilitation and that people can change.i have never been part of the "hang them all" brigade. although there will be people around all day, it just feels like this is too much of a risk for our organisation, especially if something happens, we knew about the risk and didnt do anything about it. It's probably a bit too late to organise other sound equipment, so we might have to cancel the gig. I just need a reality check really that i am doing the right thing and not over/under reacting. 12 years ago is a long time but am i right to think i wont have hime/his equipment

[ummmm]

What dealings would you have with this person if you're just hiring equipment of him?

[bednobs]

he will have to be at the gig to sort out and set up the sound equipment, and will need to be there for the whole thing in case there are any problems or it goes wrong

[JB]

Don't know the legalities of it, but would agree that he should not be involved with your event. Anyone working with/around children would need a CRB check, and from what you have said, his wouldn't come back clean. Better to be safe than sorry - you'd never forgive yourself if something did happen. (For what its worth, I do believe in second chances, but at my own risk - not that of a child.)

[boxtops]

I agree with JB - sorry if it's bad news. In my spare time I occasionally work voluntarily with a youth drama group - from 8 years and up - and there are many hoops we have had to jump through regarding CRB clearances for people involved with performances, supervising the youngsters, etc. You say the gig will be attended by children and adults - do you mean they'll be in the audience or that the children are actually participating in the event? If it's the latter then you have to be extremely careful - the rules about Children in Entertainment, particularly for children under 14, are currently legion and your local County Council can come down on organisations like a ton of bricks. On the other hand if this guy is never going to be alone with the children and the children are closely supervised by a cleared adult in the approved ratio, you may be OK. (If I have the wrong end of the stick and the children are not actually performing, then I apologise!). Not nice that someone's tipped you off but that person is obviously sufficiently worried about the guy to feel that they have to warn you - but let's hope (in one way) that the tip-off is genuine and you are right to be on your guard.

[brenda]

Is the identity of the person you are intending to hire accurate with the details if the e-mail.Or could the e-mail be malicious .Think you are right to be cautious.

[cassa333]

Ordinarily I would say that everyone deserves a second chance.

However as it was an offence involving (possible) abuse of a child then I would not have him anywhere near the place. How would you feel if he was on the look out for children and something later happened to one of them?

All in all I have read that child abusers rarely change. They may control urges for some time but ultimatly they are what they are. I wouldn't risk it.

[Gmcd01]

Aside from the legal issues, my personal opinion (and it is personal, for once) is that perhaps this guy should be given the chance.
Before I'm slaughtered for this, please bear in mind that I don't have children and nor am I a particularly paternal person! But the sentence was 4 months, not 4 years, so I'm inclined to believe that any offence couldn't have been one at the worst end of the scale. I agree that any offence is unacceptable, and particularly when it concerns vulnerable people, but 12 years is an extremely long time.
With known offenders, when any crime is committed, the police involved often have an idea of who may have been behind it. A prolific burglar or a known teenage joyrider, for example. I would believe that if the police even suspected that this man had been behind any other similar offence since his release, they'd have been on him in a second. The fact he does not appear to have committed any other offences counts in his favour, doesn't it? Even if he may just not have been caught, I accept.
I don't want to provoke hostility, so if you disagree, I understand. It's obviously your choice and you have to live with the consequences, so whatever you choose, good luck.

[bednobs]

thnak you for all your balanced views
1) it is definately him, not just malicious/peadiatrician!
2)boxtops, i was hoping to be a bit vague about the details of the gig because the person may recognise themselves, or someone might recognise them from my loose descriptions therefore it is not actually a gig/performance of any kind, just used gig as a generic term to describe an "event"
I think i have worked out what i am going to do, thanks