Complaint Review: Mobile Ed Productions - redford Michigan

This article opens up with "Despite a felony record and a lewd conduct conviction, Mobile Ed Productions hired him..."  This is deceptive in the extreme.  Mobile Ed was informed by a company which they hired to do background checks that this man had a clean record, and that's why they hired him.  Why would the writer of the article imply (strongly) that they had full knowledge of his background and yet still hired him when they know it's not true?  How much of this story is factual?

There is no excuse for criminal and inappropriate behavior.  That said, there are plenty of reasons to do business with a company which has a perfect track record of hiring people for 37 years and carefully takes all the precautions it can... Mr. Thompson's frustrated question was along the lines of, "What more could I possibly do?  This company was in business for many years.  How do I know which [background check] service to use?  Please tell me!" - Mobile Ed Productions have since ceased doing business with the real company who let down the school and students - the screening and background check company.

Where is the outrage against the screening company?  They are the ones who gave a person a clean bill of legal health when it was not warranted... not Mobile Ed Productions.  This seems to be a case of misdirected rage here.  

The man who committed the crime is personally responsible.  The company who checked him out and said that he was okay is also responsible and ought to bear the market's response of going out of business.  They failed at the one thing they had been hired to do, which was find the bad apples and inform potential employers about them.  They can't do that one job?  They deserve not a single client for the rest of their existence.  It's not like a felony record wasn't accessible to their background scrutiny.

Mobile Ed did all that it could to screen for the best performer.  They trusted the screeners and the screeners let them down.  Sadly, Mr. Thompson - who is a man of honor and integrity - has had to bear the loss of a spotless record and while he himself is one of the most genuine people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, I am certain that he carries this burden very personally.

The truth is, in spite of all the precautions we take in our society, there are people looking to find loopholes in order to practice evil.  Whether it's the military, or the medical field, or yes... even teachers and school administrators... there are those who will find a way in and will exploit naivete and innocence.

My last statement is actually a series of questions:  Since many schools over the years have hired abusers, perverts and those who have gone on to assault our children, would we hold the same standard to them as is proclaimed boldly on this site?  Will you cease from allowing your children to attend said school because the school let you down by hiring someone who wound up being a predator?  Are we using the same standard to harshly judge the "system" as is being promoted here by those who say that Mobile Ed Productions bears the blame?

I haven't seen or talked with Mr. Thompson in many years.  Nevertheless, he has my highest respect and admiration.  I view my time spent with his company as formative, constructive and life affirming.  I hope that he and his company are able to flourish more than ever.  Believe me, he will be guarding over things with the greatest of vigilance.

Mobile Ed Productions has been performing in schools since 1979. In that time countless performers have worked for us as independent contractors. We engage in every method available to us to assure that our presenters are of the highest quality. But we are a small company with limited resources. Our presenters are subject to background checks performed by a private company. We also rely on personal references. In the case of Mr. Smith, he came to us with very high personal recommendations and he was passed without question by the company charged with conducting the background check. We were failed by the research company upon whom we had relied and we no longer deal with that company. We have performed in thousands upon thousands of schools and always have received the strongest positive reviews. In 32 years this is the only incident of this kind, and we take the strongest possible measures to ensure it cannot happen again. This incident took place at least three or four years ago. Any school remotely concerned about our reliability, professionalism and the safety of their children may contact us personally for any number of references to satisfied client schools all over the United States.
We wonder at the timing of this report coming several years after the incident.It is simply a reprint of a newspaper article from when the alleged incident took place. 
In thirty-two years we have dispensed with the services of many employees found to be not up to out standards. We wonder if this is a deliberate attempt on the part of a disgruntled ex employee to besmirch our hard won reputation for quality and excellence.