(AgapePress) - Patrons of McDonald's have been shocked at the news that convicted child molesters are allegedly working at many franchise restaurants around the country. The story was uncovered as the result of some investigative reporting that began in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville NewsChannel 5 reporter Phil Williams uncovered several disturbing revelations concerning child sex offenders and their relationship to local McDonald's outlets. On Fox News' O'Reilly Factor, Williams said the investigation started with the local case of a convicted offender on probation who was discovered to be working under the "Golden Arches."

"He had been ordered not to accept any employment around children, and then he was hired at a local McDonald's, even though he was listed on Tennessee's sex-offender registry," Williams explained. The offender was subsequently re-arrested for possession of child pornography.

Further investigation revealed another convicted child molester who had been re-arrested at the McDonald's in Delaware where he worked. That offender, who faces new sex charges, was among 12 other employees on sex-offender registries in that state. The Nashville reporter told Bill O'Reilly's audience he found a combined total of 27 McDonald's workers on sex-offender registries in two other states -- yet they were all hired.

"We found dozens of convicted sex offenders, many of them ... with offenses against children, who are working at McDonald's restaurants around the country," he said. "And as we started looking at state sex-offender registries around the country, we found about five dozen offenders who are listed in about four or five states."

An official statement from McDonald's corporate office says the company does not knowingly hire sex offenders, and requires disclosure from potential employees. But Williams says the problem appears to originate with inconsistent application of that policy. His investigation indicates that locally owned franchises are given discretion in their employment practices, which has allowed many of them to skip background checks that would discover convicted sex offenders.

Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.

© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.

 

E-mail this page to a friend Printer-Friendly Version