A former Hamilton Township school employee accused of sexually assaulting a child was briefly employed by another school district, BreakingAC has confirmed.
Darnell Williams, 34, was arrested Thursday, after an investigation that started in February, when the 7-year-old victim’s parents went to police.
Williams, who worked as an outreach supervisor, allegedly molested the girl inside his vehicle after driving her home from a function at the William Davies Middle School on Feb. 21.
He was not allowed back in the district as soon as the allegations were made, and was fired at the end of the school year.
But the Central Regional School District in Bayville, Ocean County, was unaware of any of that when Williams was approved as supervisor of pupil services at the Aug. 13 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Dr. Michelle CarneyRay-Yoder told BreakingAC in an email explaining the issue.
She said the school district only learned of the allegations after Williams’ arrest Thursday.
“At no time was there any indication from the Hamilton School District that Mr. Williams’ employment was terminated, and in fact, it was not until after Mr. Williams' arrest was made public that the Hamilton School District disclosed anything about this matter to the Central Regional School District,” she wrote.
"Hamilton Township central office was not provided with any prior notification regarding the employment of Mr. Williams from Central Regional," Hamilton Township Superintendent Dr. Jeffery Zito told BreakingAC. "The district's first notice of his appointment occurred only upon receipt of the disclosure issued after Mr. Williams was in custody on Aug. 28."
That partially seems to be a result of the “Pass the Trash” form requesting any disclosure being sent to the wrong Hamilton Township, CarneyRay-Yoder wrote.
The “Pass the Trash” law has been in place since June 1, 2018, and requires school districts, charter schools, nonpublic schools or contracted service providers working with school districts, nonpublic schools, or charter schools from employing a person serving in a position involving regular contact with students unless there has been a review of the employment history of the applicant by contacting former and current employers to determine if the prospective employee has any pending or substantiated allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct over the past 20 years.
The forms “were initially inadvertently sent to the Hamilton School District located in Mercer County, CarneyRay-Yoder wrote. “Once we were informed of this, the forms were sent to the correct Hamilton School District in Atlantic County; however, completed copies were not received until after Mr. Williams' arrest had been publicly reported.”
Hamilton Township did not receive the form until Thursday afternoon, Zito told BreakingAC. It was then filled out and returned to Central Regional.
Hamilton Township police announced the arrest via a Facebook post at 1:40 p.m. Thursday.
The listed hiring from Aug. 13 Central Regional Board of Education meeting. CarneyRay-Yoder also said that district staff did speak with Williams’ references during the hiring process, and “no hint or indication was given that there was anything of concern that would cause us to question Mr. Williams’ character and ability to work in our District.”
She also said that the Department of Education’s Board of Examiners had no report that Hamilton Township terminated Williams.
In response, Zita told BreakingAC that Williams was not renewed at the end of the school year, and that he was informed of this in May.
Despite Williams’ approval at the last Central Regional Board of Education meeting, with a potential start date of Aug. 21, “at no time was Mr. Williams in contact with any of our students, nor officially employed by the District,” CarneyRay-Yoder wrote.
“The offer of employment to Mr. Williams was immediately rescinded and withdrawn,” she said of learning about the charges and arrest.
Williams is currently in the Atlantic County Justice Facility awaiting a detention hearing set for Thursday. He was not brought from the jail for his first appearance Friday.
