Guitar Center management screw-up...

[Misfit Wookiee]

So, saw this on my local TV channel's website (we're currently without television so my news comes from the interwebz...) and thought I should share with all y'all. I'm both a parent and a former employee of GC, and I am just appalled at the story, should the allegations of the co-worker prove to be true:

Invalid Link Removed

 

[bholder]

Well, it's not GC's fault the instructor is a creep, but yeah, their response wasn't exactly stellar.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

He's been charged & arrested, but how long will it take to prove he's guilty?

GC's comment:

"
Guitar Center has recently been made aware of a matter regarding a former employee from its Moreno Valley store. Guitar Center conducts background checks on all of its employees and takes the safety of its employees and customers very seriously. Guitar Center is fully cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation of this matter.

We cannot comment further as this matter involves a pending investigation.
"

 

[Misfit Wookiee]

He's been charged & arrested, but how long will it take to prove he's guilty?

GC's comment:

"
Guitar Center has recently been made aware of a matter regarding a former employee from its Moreno Valley store. Guitar Center conducts background checks on all of its employees and takes the safety of its employees and customers very seriously. Guitar Center is fully cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation of this matter.

We cannot comment further as this matter involves a pending investigation.
"

The part that really irritates me was this comment from the viral video poster:
"When she asked a corporate-level employee why Hernandez had been hired to work with children given his criminal record, the employee told her that 'background checks cost money,' Strassenburg said."

Translation if proven true: We'll take the hit from any legal action that may occur by hiring someone with a criminal background, but it'll probably be cheaper to go without the safeguard of doing a thorough background check.

Having worked in retail (including management), that decision really chafes. I worked at a now-defunct game store and was around kids a lot (I was a Gym Leader for a Pokemon group that came in weekly), and you can bet your bottom dollar that they made sure I was eligible to work around kids.

 

[Gorn]

The guy has a felony burglary record that he got when he was 18. Should people with such a record be barred from teaching music because they might abuse a child? Is there a demonstrable correlation between people who get convicted of burglary at 18 and the propensity to abuse children?

 

[MJ5150]

Bad people slip through the cracks all the time and get jobs they shouldn't have.

As for the video, she's quoting hearsay then building her drama from that.
Because of the legality and complexity of finding and arresting a predator like this, I am sure it was in the best interest of GC to keep the situation quiet until the police made an official announcement.
No sense in giving people like this woman any information they can use to make videos, which she even admitted she hoped would go viral.

-Mike

 

[charlie monroe]

The guy has a felony burglary record that he got when he was 18. Should people with such a record be barred from teaching music because they might abuse a child? Is there a demonstrable correlation between people who get convicted of burglary at 18 and the propensity to abuse children?

Stop injecting lucid arguments into our hysteria.

We're trying to have a good pitchfork and torches throw down.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I won't comment on the ALLEGED crimes other than to say. I hope for any child's sake that this is all some kind of fabrication and these acts did not take place.

The, almost cheery sounding beginning of this video and the mentioned hope that it goes viral seems a bit off to me.
The person in the video said "she just walked out" (I believe those where her words.) Under what circumstances did she do that?
Did she quit? Was she fired? Was it the end of her shift? Did she walk out just to make the video?

If she is currently still employed and wearing a shirt with a company logo, what will be her fate?
From her standpoint, was this a very well thought out strategy?

I guess I question her motivations in doing what she did at the time she did it.
If she knew about this, and if her reasons for doing so were to help bring the accused to justice, why didn't she go to the police first?
There is something about this video that just doesn't seem quite right, or genuine... or, I really can't put my finger on it.

My question then becomes, if this goes to trial, how does a video like this affect the outcome?
Is the jury pool tainted? Will they have to change venue? And if so, to where?
If these crimes did take place and the accused "walks" because of anything this girl did, that would be most tragic.

 

[Double E]

Not only do this girl's actions in posting this video ultimately stand to do more harm than good for the investigation, she could end up on the wrong end of a defamation suit.

A professional photographer, an individual, just recently won a defamation case against a couple that cried poor customer service and issued scam alerts via social media. The court awarded over a million dollars in damages to the small business owner...what will GC's lawyers go for for this if her statements are proven to be incorrect or out of context?

Who has qualified the GC management staff she is quoting? Are they responsible employees that have the authority to represent the company and their policies? What if the guy she talked to just didn't really have a clue and was just spewing whatever he could to try to calm her down?

This is crazy, you can make a video and as long as it is a hot-button topic you will fill up the bandwagon regardless of the facts or whether you are just being plain irresponsible.

 

[MJ5150]

Not only do this girl's actions in posting this video ultimately stand to do more harm than good for the investigation, she could end up on the wrong end of a defamation suit.

A professional photographer, an individual, just recently won a defamation case against a couple that cried poor customer service and issued scam alerts via social media. The court awarded over a million dollars in damages to the small business owner...what will GC's lawyers go for for this if her statements are proven to be incorrect or out of context?

Who has qualified the GC management staff she is quoting? Are they responsible employees that have the authority to represent the company and their policies? What if the guy she talked to just didn't really have a clue and was just spewing whatever he could to try to calm her down?

This is crazy, you can make a video and as long as it is a hot-button topic you will fill up the bandwagon regardless of the facts or whether you are just being plain irresponsible.

Indeed.
Pull on everyone's heart strings with the comments about isn't a child's life worth more than this......
That'll get 'em every time. Shameful conduct.

If these allegations are true, I certainly hope this man is properly punished for the terrible crimes levied against him.

-Mike

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

If these allegations are true, I certainly hope this man is properly punished for the terrible crimes levied against him.

-Mike

Wait! What?

 

[hbarcat]

I'm gratified to see that there are some posters urging caution when assuming the accusations against this person are not proved and that he may even possibly be innocent.

To those who do assume that being charged with a crime is evidence of guilt, I offer this personal anecdote:

A close friend of mine was charged with molesting a young girl. Despite the accusations against him being based entirely on a single, ambiguous statement made by a child of the age where invisible friends are commonplace, he was prosecuted and found guilty and sentenced to a long prison term. He appealed his conviction and his case was eventually overturned by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on the grounds that he was not given a fair trial. The prosecution, realizing they really had no case, declined to re-try him and he was released with a clean record.

I knew him very well, personally, and believe to the core of my being that he was not capable of molesting a child. A review of the details of the case against him show him as the victim of an overzealous prosecutor and an actively biased judge.

But, because of the original accusations and charges, he lost custody of his 5 year old daughter whom he'd raised from an infant as a single father. His ex-wife's family subsequently refuse to allow him access to her and she grew up believing her father is a child molester. Many of his former acquaintances believe him guilty and avoid him and he has had a difficult time getting good jobs. His life was truly ruined because he was falsely accused of a crime and the prevailing public opinion will keep him on the margins of society for the rest of his life.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Yeah, accusing someone of a crime like this is very serious business.

and the torchburners come out of the wordwork when there's a target!

 

[MJ5150]

Oh my @hbarcat, that is terrible for your friend.
Good reminders for us all to cool our jets when stories like this one come up.
It's such a sensitive subject, so doing so can be difficult.

-Mike