One middle school counselor kept his job for nearly two years in Virginia once he was first arrested after soliciting sex from a minor.

Law enforcement in Chesterfield, Virginia, arrested Darren Thornton in November 2020 after he engaged with an undercover officer posing as a 17-year-old girl. Thornton set up a meeting for sexual acts and was arrested when he arrived at the meeting place. On March 11, 2021, Thornton was convicted, but his five-year sentence was suspended due to good behavior, according to court documents.

Elizabeth Caroon, a spokeswoman for Chesterfield police, confirmed to several local outlets that the department notified Fairfax County Public Schools, which is among Virginia’s largest school districts, of Thornton’s arrest immediately. The Virginia State Police registered him as a sex offender after his conviction.

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Thornton was arrested a second time just before his dismissal in June, this time charged with solicitation of prostitution and frequenting a bawdy place. The former school counselor reported that he was set up by police in both arrests. Before his job at Glasgow Middle School, Thornton was a counselor and boys varsity basketball coach from 2006 to 2020 in Hanover County’s school system.

Yet Thornton would not be fired until a new superintendent dismissed him on Thursday. His staff page was deleted from the Glasgow Middle School website on July 28.

“There is no higher priority than the safety of our students and, on behalf of the school board and myself, I want to make this very clear: this entire situation is unacceptable from any perspective,” Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid wrote in a message to the families. “We are deeply concerned about how this happened in one of our schools. I want to assure you that we are doing everything possible so this cannot happen again. I am committed to keeping you updated on this issue.”

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There are over 178,000 students and 100,000 teachers in the district, according to school data.

Thornton will next appear in Chesterfield District Court on Sept. 27.

Original Location: Virginia school continued to employ convicted sex offender 20 months after arrest

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