Too Little, Too Late? The Florida Department of Children and Families is
initiating criminal background checks on its 13,500 employees—a step being taken
after its spokesman was arrested and charged with eight counts related to child
pornography, according to a news article by the Associated Press. The spokesman,
Al Zimmerman, is charged with eight counts of using a child in a sexual
performance. The incidents involved two teenage boys, one of whom reportedly was
in the care of the Florida children’s department.
The department’s secretary, Bob Butterworth, said at a news conference that
his agency will take steps to “make sure all employees filled out official
applications, have been fingerprinted and that former employers were contacted
before they were hired,” the AP reports. (The article does not address possible
repercussions, such as firings, if employees are found to have criminal
records.)
According to the AP, although the checks are required for new employees, none
were conducted on Zimmerman, who reportedly had previously been arrested for DUI
and writing bad checks. His references were checked, but not former employers.
The agency didn’t institute its fingerprint requirement until about a year after
Zimmerman was hired, the report states. If convicted on the child pornography
charges, Zimmerman reportedly faces up to 120 years in prison.
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