Here is the new Safesport disciplinary database. The old one had been broken for about a year or so and didn’t work right, making it difficult to find information.
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Horse Authority appears to cover both civil and criminal cases. This is the type of information I am looking for.
Even so, it’s not something most people would be searching for when trying to find a riding program for their children. Given the number of assaults in the sport (and others) I wish there were more options.
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Was this whole thread a veiled effort to promote this website? It feels that way…
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Most states now have a digital court case/record search. My state (Virginia) was late to the party, but finally has most things online – civil, criminal & traffic. The handy thing with it is that you can see upcoming cases as well as those that have already been closed.
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No, it’s a site that most closely resembles what I am looking for.
There are a lot of complaints that Safesport sanctions are handed out without enough “evidence” or by circumventing the criminal justice system. A lot of new parents to this sport don’t have the knowledge to know who is considered a good trainer, who is considered a good trainer with questionable methods, or who they should outright avoid. Kids often land at the facility closest to home or one they have driven by and noticed.
It also highlights the types of civil cases seen in the industry and IMO is a decent starting reference to anyone wanting to know where the red flags are in dealing with people and transactions in the equestrian industry.
In my ideal world there would be a site that someone could punch in a prospective trainers name (for any sport) and you could see both criminal and civil matters but it will never be that easy. Parents are often left in the dark and not privy to the talk/gossip/knowledge that more experienced people may know.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great trainers and volunteers involved with all sports but unfortunately it appears that minors are not being protected to the best of our abilities and I would rather be part of the solution in weeding out those that should not be allowed around them.
Speaking specifically to sexual assault cases it’s proven that there is heavy manipulation involved in enticing both kids and parents to trust these perpetrators and wouldn’t it be ideal if there was a way to keep people informed of facts. Generally speaking where there is smoke, there is fire. This is about protecting people in all sports, and in life when growing up.
I find it interesting that judges have to pass background checks but trainers etc do not. Maybe this is something that needs to be dealt with at local “club” levels as a lot of non-USEF schooling shows are organized by local clubs. If their mandate was that all trainers, volunteers and workers had to have criminal record checks submitted it would be a great start. It won’t prevent 100% of abuse from happening but it’s something.
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It’s wildly incomplete. You’d be better off searching public dockets if you really wanted to find out what cases were filed involving a particular person. The system you’re looking for where you can input a person’s name… that’s the court docket system. It’s online and free in MANY places. Yes you’d potentially have to check multiple dockets but what you’re describing is already out there if you’re interested. A lawyer can access a (non-free) consolidated version of this called Court Link. I am sure you could have someone pull a profile on a trainer if you were so motivated.
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Find out if the person whose background you are researching has moved to your area from another city, county or state. Those records are not on a nationwide database. You have to find the jurisdiction where the arrest/charges originated to find the record.
The U.S. has multiple levels of jurisdiction. Records tend to be kept at the level, and there are few, if any, publicly accessible common databases. Usually you have to know where to look. City, county, state, federal.
Professional background checks do have access to nationwide data that is harvested and maintained by private companies. Even they will not find everything.
Some problems are strictly local and you will never find them unless you are searching in that locality. They might seem minor - “lewd behavior” arrest at a bar (what does that mean exactly? still wondering) - but on the other hand, if that’s your child’s riding instructor, would you want to know more about it? That kind of thing.
Background checks are not as easily accessible to regular citizens who don’t have professional-level access to databases. But you can certainly search in all local jurisdictions - city, county, state, at least.
Sometimes people with problematic records do keep moving from one place to another, specifically to hide their past records that won’t be as immediately available in the new locality.
I know of one who is a high school principal. He’s been pushed out and moved on from at least two cities/towns that I know of. But he keeps finding that next school principal job in some smaller town, places that I think are desperate to find candidates willing to move there.
Its a valid point. I am in Canada, and I was shocked to find out that someone with a conviction as a sexual predator can legally change their name. This makes “googling” their name useless. We have a farrier in our area that was convicted of raping two young boys. After serving his jail term, he changed his name, and now works as a farrier, at barns which often have young children present (he was actually dating a young trainer for a while? so was hanging around the barns she worked at). True he isn’t in a position of trust like a coach, but there really should be a way to ensure they people you hire are people you want on your property.
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Again… as a parent of two children involved in multiple sports… honestly… my experience is that it’s worthwhile to:
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Do simple searches on public databases (typically part of an electronic court records system) of ANYONE involved in coaching your kids
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If you know your child’s coach came from a different locale/state somewhat recently, and/or, if the coach is going to have a lot of 1 on 1 time with your child… consider paying a relatively small fee to just run a professional background check on them.
Better safe than sorry. As another poster said earlier… maybe something small turns up, like a charge for possession of weed when the coach was a teen themself. But alternatively… maybe something else turns up… like a charge related to selling harder drugs (coke and ecstasy) to younger teammates (as was the case with a popular youth lacrosse coach in my area). Parents can then make a personal decision as to what they are comfortable with in terms of people that coach their children.
People need to realize, whether it’s SafeSport or Horse Authority… those programs/sites are only as good as what is reported to them. There is no ‘one step’ background screening tool that will cover all risks when it comes to trying to avoid creeps and criminals. It would be nice if things were that easy and simple… but that’s not realistic. A search of public records, plus doing a name search in local social media community forums can yield quite a bit of relevant information for any vigilant parent though. They need not be knowledgeable about horses to take those steps. They just need to be savvy, and not get sucked into a charming, idyllic and friendly lesson barn scenario, where they decide to skip all the basic background checks, because the local farm just seems sooooo nice on the surface…
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One can always Google the combination of the person’s name and Safe Sport or criminal record or sex offender. Depending on how common the name is you might have to add horse or equestrian. Sometimes stuff surfaces that way. It does work better if there has been an article in the press. Just be careful that you don’t inadvertently register for some online database site that charges.
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I just googled the sex offender registry in my zip code. My jaw is DROPPED! I figured, if learning who is a potential risk just in this sport, it’s probably important to find out who has registered (by law) in my own neigh-hood! Thank god I’m moving!
I’m afraid to check the 33470. While moving things, I ran into my entire undergrad collection of curriculum textbooks. One such text “Criminal Deviance,” certainly confirms that no amount of “therapy,” or “rehabilitation,” has ever been successful in stopping sexual deviance. Prison wardens have argued keeping sexual predators in prison (an assumed “rehabilitation,”) is a waste of time and money. It is still an argued issue of “what to do,” with these types of offenders. I suppose, the sex offender registry is the best option of the few, of which some are borderline medieval.
Real problem is, the worst of the worst seem to be in SOME position of “power.” They are schooled in the “skill,” of “grooming,” and know or assume their victim won’t come forward. We become furious when we learn it’s a politician or president or priest. But, a coach to our youth? Whom they (and maybe, We look up to) ?? The word “furious,” just doesn’t cut it. It just occurred to me- maybe the way to help SafeSport is to agree that it (“the Center”) should only concentrate on minors and sexual abuses, even if a victim is no longer a minor. Let the police & courts deal with adults who use (misuse) SafeSport to eliminate potential competition by making bogus claims. If people (adults) are so interested in messing with the lives of other competitors, (in a non sexual capacity, that is) bring the “grievance,” to court & let a legal expert decide. Like a judge. It feels like SafeSport went downhill by trying to determine disputes made my adults, about other adults. (Again, not including sexual deviance.) After all, SS was created by Congress to protect minors… even when they’re no longer minors & not within the statute of limitations to come forward re sex offenses.
SS was NOT designed to protect adults who want to act like children. Those folks can decide if their personal grudge is worth lawyering up, going to court, and probably losing- Bc the only thing they wanted was to take away someone else’s “favorite toy,” in mild cases- and their entire life’s joy in others. Horses. The right to compete. Etc… All JMHO… who knows… ?? Focus group? @Peggy I vote you in as group leader!
Child abusers are seemingly EVERYWHERE. Every zip code, every town. You can google your zip code with the words sex offender and a map pops up with the addresses of the convicted ones. Triple or quadruple that and maybe it’s a representation of the real actual number which includes those not yet caught.
Odds are if the public truly knew the numbers, many kids would never be allowed out again. The horse world is ripe hunting grounds for the predators with many parents using barns basically as child care doubled with kids desperate to fit in, get perks and please their trainer.
Even when I was young the predators were there. My little horse group had 7 that I knew of. One is still alive in another area. I did make sure people knew a convicted sex offender is running loose in their horse club.
And know for some of these people an infant or very young child is perceived as sexual prey and I can study that sick phenomenon forever but I will never understand it.
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Thanks for posting this. I searched registered sex offenders data base via zip code.
Where I used to live there were 5.
Where I live now there are more than 10x that.
** the population of the current county is about 100,000 less than previous. City size is about the same population wise.
That doesn’t include neighboring zip codes in the same town or transients or county registered address zip codes.
No bueno. Not all were men either. Parents, guardians and grandparents need to be aware to try to protect juveniles.
One of the problems, unique to USEF and even unsanctioned local horse show competitions; is that either the event may occur in another county and/or many show officials are from out of county and or out of state. Those out of area offenders will not show up on home county searching. Ugh.
The classification “sex offender” includes a multitude of acts. Not all (by any stretch) are grown adults against minors. Just saying.
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That is very true that “sex offender” can include situations that many people would not be concerned about in a riding instructor.
If, decades ago, an 18-year-old boy had consensual sex with a 17-year-old girl and her parents found out and blew up about it, he could end up on a sex offender registry for life. He should have known better, of course … but, twenty years later, is this a concern for a riding instructor?
(There should be education for teenagers on what kind of behavior puts them at risk of ending up on a sex offender registry. Most have no idea.)
There are bad divorces that end up with someone who has never been a threat to minors having a sex offender status for life.
Sex work (aka prostitution) can end up on a sex offender registry. So can “revenge porn” (exposing revealing photos without the subject’s permission) and surreptitious recording. These offenses may not include minors, and may only have happened in a limited context.
Someone can be classified as a sex offender for life for such issues, even if it was only one instance, decades ago.
These kind of things are lumped in with the truly violent assaults, child pornography, trafficking, etc. People with a single instance are on the list with repeat offenders.
Unfortunately the records available to parents can be difficult to find, and then difficult to interpret. If a record of an offense does turn up, it is worthwhile to dig and dig and then look even deeper to really understand what the record is saying.
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If someone has an arrest on record, regardless of the outcome it can often be found in the local public record. Hopefully you can see how it was decided. The details may or may not be included, depending on the record available to the public.
Once did a background check on someone who had 5 arrests over a two-year span. Not all had been decided in the legal system. But clearly this person had issues to deal with!
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@Jaegermonster, in most states, the digital court case search will show upcoming cases as well as those already concluded. I’ve found things that way that didn’t show up on a basic, paid background check, believe it or not. Doesn’t help you if the person has never been caught, but better than nothing.
I looked at the Sex Offender registry for our previous town once with my SO, who is retired law enforcement. He, of course, could go down the list & tick off what each charge meant. I want to say it was fairly easy to interpret for a layperson as well, but it’s been a while since I last looked. Will check it out & report back.
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if you are in the US transient sex offenders/predators are also required to register
offenders from another jurisdiction have to check out with their home jurisdiction and reregister with the jurisdiction they will be in if they will be there longer than 72 hours.
im also retired law enforcement (25 years) and was a detective in the unit that monitors sex offenders/predators and other assorted miscreants.
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