Peaster school custodians failed to register locally

Danie M. Huffman

wdreporter2@yahoo.com

A couple living in Poolville and employed with a custodian contractor for Peaster ISD was arrested Tuesday for failure to register as sex offenders.

Joann Williams Sexton and Ernest Butch Sexton were employed with Faulk Company, which is contracted through the district and numerous area schools.

Tim Faulk, owner of the Fort Worth-based Faulk Company, confirmed the husband and wife were immediately terminated after their arrest Tuesday.

Ernest Sexton is listed as failing to register annually as a life sex offender after being convicted for sexual assault in Lawrence County, Ark., stated in an arrest affidavit. The charge is equivalent under Texas law as indecency with a child by contact, a sexually violent offense. He is required to register annually for life.

A separate affidavit stated Joann Sexton was required to register after being convicted for lewd or indecent proposal to a child under 16 in Delaware County, Okla. Her crime is equivalent under Texas law to criminal solicitation of a child. She is required to register annually for 10 years after she was released from probation Feb. 42, 2004.

Both affidavits stated the couple moved to Texas from Arkansas and informed Lawrence County deputies they planned to change their address in March 2007, but failed to do so.

The affidavits stated Parker County Sheriff’s deputies were alerted to the situation through an anonymous source.

Peaster ISD Superintendent Phillip Bledsoe said the district contracts with the Faulk Company, which provided them with clear background checks on the Sextons and other employees in November.

“Well, we cannot tolerate anything like that,” Bledsoe said. “She’s already been dismissed from the Faulk Company. We just can’t have that around the school or anywhere around the school district. Something went through the cracks here, there was no report or anything.”

Bledsoe said a letter notifying parents was being drafted Friday.

“I understand how the parents feel,” he said. “We do everything we possibly can to keep the schools safe. It’s our goal here at the district. It’s an unfortunate, sad situation that happened.”

Bledsoe confirmed Joann Sexton oversaw Peaster schools under the Faulk Company’s contract.

Faulk said Joann Sexton had been employed for more than 10 years and came to Peaster about two years ago after working in the Garner district for about a year.

He added Ernest Sexton had not worked for the company in about two months, and was only employed for about six months as a fill-in.

Both Bledsoe and Faulk said there had been no complaints or problems with the Sextons while they were employed with the company.

Both also said they are currently working on future plans to keep from repeating a similar situation in the future.

Faulk added he has switched companies for future background checks, adding he has opted for a comprehensive program which covers background checks more thoroughly at a state and national level.

“We want as much of an in-depth program as we can get,” Faulk said. “We came under scrutiny for it, but we checked the list.”

He added they previously used another company, which did a “fine job,” but only performed state checks.

“It was brought to light that our background procedure wasn’t as in-depth as it needed to be and we have changed to a new program [which checks] county, state and national,” he said. “I apologize that this slipped through and wasn’t reported.”

Faulk said in the past about 50 percent of all applicants for Peaster ISD custodian positions have failed to pass a background check due to drug or crime-related offenses in their background.

“This is the first time something like this has happened,” he said.

The couple was arrested at their home. Joann posted a $15,000 bond the day following her arrest and was released from jail. Ernest Sexton posted a $20,000 bond and was released Thursday.