Proper checks not carried out on sex offender
Formal criminal checks were not carried out on a convicted child sex offender who went on to film the abuse of boys on field trips, an inquiry has found. Richard McGuire, 44, of Middlesbrough, forged a Criminal Records Bureau clearance form to win contracts to take schoolboys on outdoor trips in 2005. He was jailed for sex abuse and a Serious Case Review was ordered. It found that Middlesbrough Council and other organisations had not carried proper checks on the sex offender.
McGuire, a former scoutmaster who ran the company Dragon House Training, admitted 33 charges, including attempted rape and sexual activity with a child, at a hearing at Teesside Crown Court in September. He was jailed indefinitely. The hearing heard how police discovered videos showing McGuire abusing unconscious, drugged teenagers aged between 13 and 16.
The review of the case was carried out by the South Tees Local Safeguarding Board. Its report said: "If the checks had been carried out properly, McGuire's previous offences would have been revealed and he would not have been able to operate as he did." The report recommended that local authorities, governors and schools carry out criminal checks more thoroughly.
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