A CONVICTED sex offender was subject to a number of checks before he was hired – says West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, David Jamieson.
This comes after concerns were raised about Darryl Moffatt’s employment history raised in a letter to Mr Jamieson from Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner candidate Jay Singh-Sohal, which was signed by council leaders including Solihull’s Ian Courts.
The joint letter asked Mr Jamieson to to explain alleged contradictions in statements between his office and those from West Midlands Police following Darryl Moffat’s conviction and his role as a school partnership engagement officer for The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).
Last month Moffatt was jailed for two years and eight months following a series of child sexual offences.
He will also be the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for five years and be placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
The joint letter said: “We were alarmed by the statement by Detective Chief Inspector Sam Batey, who said that Moffatt had ‘abused his position of trust’. This also appears to contradict your statement that his crimes ‘are not connected to his work’.”
It also asked for clarity on whether Moffatt had a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check which reveals details of all spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings held on central police records to employers, when Mr Jamieson’s office became aware of the investigation into Moffatt and how much contact Moffatt had with children in his employment.
In response Mr Jamieson said: “There is no evidence that any of the offences he committed are linked to his employment.
“For someone holding Moffatt’s position, to commit these offences is to abuse a position of trust, as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
“Moffat’s salary was funded by the OPCC and he worked largely under the direction of the OPCC. It is for this reason that DM is described as working with the OPCC.
“However, he was not an employee of the OPCC. His contract of employment was with Broadway Academy.
“Moffatt was DBS checked as part of his contract of employment. No concerns were raised. Moffatt was also subject to police vetting. Again, no concerns were raised.
“Moffatt’s role involved liaison with senior management teams in schools and providers of services.Schools he worked with have confirmed he had little or no access to school premises and was an accompanied visitor on the occasions he attended meetings.”
