Virginia mom rips school district after counselor's conviction on sex crime: 'This is a dystopia'
Fairfax County Public Schools tells parents of school counselor's conviction for soliciting underage prostitute
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A former Virginia teacher sounded the alarm on Fairfax County Public Schools after the superintendent informed parents a convicted sex offender was employed at a local middle school after his conviction.
Fairfax County Schools parent Debra Tisler joined "America's Newsroom" Monday to discuss why she sees the district as a "dystopia."
"This is just tragic," Tisler told co-host Bill Hemmer.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This is just another example of Fairfax County Public Schools' dystopia. They fail to protect the children. There's a deliberate indifference I believe, in protecting children. They have been under investigation before by the Office of Civil Rights, and they still refuse to come into protocol within policy and regulations of ensuring children's safety."
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"They do not even create background checks on these teachers and counselors and staff members on a yearly basis at the self-reporting system," she continued.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Darren Thornton was a school counselor at Glasgow Middle School, but has since been fired as the district lobbies the state to revoke his teaching license.
A Fairfax County school bus sits in a depot, a day after it was announced the county would begin the school year all online, in Lorton, Virginia, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
The school district's superintendent, Michelle Reid, sent a letter to parents last week to inform them Thornton was employed despite his conviction, but said he was fired as soon as administrators were made aware of the situation.
"I am writing to make you aware of the action that I am taking as a result of being notified of a serious situation at Glasgow Middle School regarding a counselor who continued to be employed despite being convicted – outside of Fairfax County – of ‘solicitation of prostitution from a minor’. I want to assure you that as soon as the School Board and I knew of the situation, we took immediate steps to dismiss the employee," the letter read.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Thornton was arrested for soliciting an underage prostitute in November 2020. He pleaded not guilty in August 2021, and was convicted in March 2022.
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He was sentenced to five years behind bars.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He was also arrested separately again in June for soliciting a prostitute, but his staff page was not deleted from the school's website until July 28.
A spokesperson for the school district confirmed to Fox News that Darren Thornton, a counselor at Glasgow Middle School, was fired and the district is petitioning the state to take away his teaching license. (Virginia State Police)
"This is a huge bureaucratic system, and again, it's something that they don't put at the top of their priorities, although they tout that they are Fairfax one, and they are all about equity in their utopia," Tisler said.
"This is a dystopia. These children are not safe. They have every moment at these school board meetings to update their policies and regulations to ensure proper background checks are done to do their due diligence."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Instead, they stick to an agenda that is not prioritized for the safety of the children, and many organizations in the area are on top of it and have been calling them out for a while," she continued.
Thornton is currently listed on Virginia's sex offender registry.
Fox News' Adam Sabes contributed to this report.