3 December 2008
Girl Scout Leader Accused of Kidnapping
Posted by admin under: policies .
At first I wasn’t going to talk about this Associatede Press story because there are weird people in every walk of life and I don’t want to report on every single wacko who makes his or her way into Boy or Girl Scouts. However, I noticed something in this story that I wanted to make sure got highlighted.
A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.
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The boy said he had been held captive for nearly a year, said Ellis, adding that he looked as if he was only 10 to 12 years old.
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Police arrested Kelly Layne Lau, 30, and Michael Schumacher, 34, late Monday after questioning the couple.
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They were being held at the San Joaquin County jail in lieu of bail of nearly $1.2 million each.
Here’s the part I wanted to highlight.
Lau started serving as a local Girl Scout leader sometime in September, after a background check turned up nothing to cause concern, said Pam Saltenberger, chief executive of Girl Scouts Heart of Central California.
So, the woman was a leader for about 3 months and a background check was performed. Obviously, evil people who hide their actions beyond detection are going to find ways into organizations, but background checks are being done and this particular person wasn’t in a leadership position for very long. For some reason the Girl Scout leader connection is front and center, but it seems pretty much irrelevant to this issue.
Update:
- Trusting the Treasurer
- No Sale, Big Deal
- Possible Vice President Vetoes Scout Funding
- No Chump Change for Chico Chick
- Cubs Hit By Car – Most Are Okay
One Comment so far...
Walter Underwood Says:
3 December 2008 at 2:57 pm.
Yesterday, KCBS radio interviewed someone who said that Lau was her son’s Den Mother and she wasn’t sure what to say to her son. I can’t find that report on the KCBS site, but Lau could have also been registered with the BSA.
This is the big weakness of background checks, they only catch people who have already been caught before. Not an excuse to stop background checks, but an excellent reason to follow YP to the letter.
