Virginia school counselor remained in job 20 months after arrest

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A counselor for Virginia’s largest public school system kept his job for more than a year and a half after his arrest on charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Virginia has processes in place to prevent sex offenders from working in K-12 schools, but it’s unclear at which point in the process there was a breakdown.

Darren Thornton, 50, was arrested in an undercover chat operation in Chesterfield in November 2020.

At the time, he was employed by Fairfax County Public Schools as a school counselor.

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