Guardian Angels probe ranks for a convicted sex offender
The head of the Guardian Angels -- a controversial, New York-based citizen policing force -- said last night that he is investigating the possibility that a member of the group in Boston has been convicted of a sex offense.
Curtis Sliwa said other members of the volunteer police force contacted him yesterday to report that a member was upset because a "sexual indiscretion" from his past had surfaced.
Sliwa said he was not able to contact the member yesterday, but became concerned upon receiving calls "alerting me that, 'Hey, this guy is acknowledging having a problem which he never mentioned before.' " Sliwa said the information he received from other members was vague, but media inquiries later in the day heightened his concerns that the man could be a convicted sex offender.
The man, whom the Globe is not identifying because he could not be reached for comment last night, pleaded guilty in 2002 to indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14. The episode occurred in Roxbury in April 2001 in connection with the man's role as a volunteer working with children. The man was accused of touching a boy underneath his underwear. The man worked with the group in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the Angels were previously in Boston.
Sliwa said the Guardian Angels do not allow sex offenders of any level to work for them and said he asked Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis to conduct background checks on all volunteers when he met with him last week. Davis told Sliwa he would check with the city attorney about the possibility of performing such checks, Sliwa said.
Last night, Sliwa said that he won't wait for help from the Police Department and will have members provide their own state-certified criminal background data before beginning work.
Sliwa said he was "checking every and all leads and trying to connect the dots" to get to the bottom of the situation last night.
The Rev. Bruce Wall, a Dorchester pastor who has embraced the Guardian Angels and worked with them extensively, said he spoke with police yesterday about the man after a concerned citizen who knew of the man's past recognized him and called Wall and the police. Wall said the police showed him a picture of the man whom the citizen had identified as a sex offender and the man looked like a Guardian Angel with whom Wall has been working.
Wall said he will continue to support the Guardian Angels as long as they do not allow any sex offenders or people with violent or drug crime histories to volunteer.
"It's a wake-up call," Wall said. "I as pastor of this church am going to want to review the criminal history record of every Guardian Angel, primarily because I'm working with them at the church."
Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for the Police Department, said that early yesterday morning a concerned citizen called police to say "that a gentleman dressed like a Guardian Angel had walked through the Academy Homes property with another Guardian Angel who the citizen recognized as a convicted sex offender."
Davis said he is troubled by the allegations. "Certainly having somebody with a sex-offense record is a great concern," he said. "If someone is dressed in a uniform that purports to be a safety uniform or somebody who can be trusted . . . there could be room for a problem."
Suzanne Smalley can be reached at ssmalley@globe.com. 