Sex offender volunteers at school

Susan Wagoner

The administration of a small private school in Ketchum was surprised to discover one of their volunteers was a sex offender previously unregistered in the State of Oklahoma.

The Ketchum Adventist Academy was unaware of the past of Warren Scott Mills, 50, until a background check revealed the information.

However, questions have been raised as to the timeliness of the school officials in getting the background check on the convicted man.

Mills is a sex offender following a conviction in Phoenix, Ariz., in 1988 on charges of lewd or indecent proposals/acts to child.

He is classified as a Level 3 sex offender. According to the Arizona Sex Offender Information Center Web site, a Level 3 offender is defined as being a “high risk to the community. The offender has a history of predatory sex crimes, has been convicted of a dangerous crime, or is diagnosed as a serial predator.”

The school is church operated by the nearby Seventh-Day Adventist Church, where Mills is a member.

When help was needed in the cafeteria of the school, a church member approached Mills about volunteering, knowing Mills worked as a chef at a restaurant in town.

Mills agreed and began to help with lunch three days out of the four-day school week.

“We have several volunteers at the school who assist us in many areas,” Principal Wes McWilliams said.

Mills had assisted on several occasions when McWilliams said he realized there was a new face in the volunteer mix, in late November.

“He’d been here off and on for two or three weeks, when I noticed a new face in the kitchen,” McWilliams said. “I initiated a background check on him as is standard procedure with all of our volunteers.”

Though many of the volunteers may be affiliated with the church, background checks are done as part of the school policy, regardless of church membership, according to McWilliams.

Not true said one parent, who also volunteers for the school.

“Mills has been volunteering in the kitchen since a few weeks after school started,” Sarah Reeves said. Reeves and her husband cooked for the school one day a week and was introduced to Mills back in late September or early October.

Her husband, who has worked as an officer for the Department of Corrections, had red flags about the new volunteer from the very first encounter. The Reeves were so uncomfortable and concerned by that meeting that they immediately took action.

“My husband told me that first day that something was up with him,” Reeves said. Mills made several comments that were recognized as prison lingo by Reeves’ husband. He continued to

converse with Mills and the more he responded, the more suspicion he raised.

“It was a feeling that was so strong for both of us that I immediately contacted the principal and requested a background check be done,” Reeves said.

Weeks went by, with Reeves checking in with the school at least once a week and the school board every time they met. She became an advocate for background checks, which are policy, according to McWilliams, to be done on all volunteers.

As a volunteer, Reeves knew that the policy was not being enforced as she had never been approached for one.

Reeves said she was told by the school that a background check was being done.

“The principal told me that they were working on it,” she said. “But week after week, nothing changed.”

Meanwhile, the Reeves notified the school that they would not volunteer at the same time Mills was there, because they felt so strongly that something was wrong.

McWilliams said that when he did initiate a background check on Mills, that he had several options in which to seek the information.

“There were two options for background check,” he explained. “One was done as an online form submission. The other was through hard copy and was done by fax.”

McWilliams submitted the online form, with the understanding that he would be contacted should something questionable appear. Nothing did, according to him, leaving the impression that nothing was there to find.

When school officials discussed making Mills a paid employee of the school, the principal said he decided to inquire about the check and discovered that the form had not been received.

“For some reason, I just thought I needed to go a step further. I then sent a hard copy fax request in and several hours later, discovered his criminal history,” McWilliams said, adding that immediately, the pastor went to Mills’ residence and notified him that he could no longer volunteer at the school.

Mills was arrested by Delaware County Sheriff’s Office shortly after for failing to register as a sex offender.

A later charge followed in Mayes County when Mills was charged with a misdemeanor count of “registered sex offender working on school

premises.”

Mayes County Investigator Chuck Ward said though that was the only option for additional charges, he wanted to send a message to Mills that might sting a little bit.

“The school took appropriate action after they found out about his background,” Ward said.

But Reeves questions the actions taken in the months prior as well as after the discovery of the information.

“Parents weren’t ever officially notified of this at all,” Reeves said. “Firsthand, I know the school was not on the up and up about the background check. We are so disappointed at the leadership at the school. It’s just disheartening.”

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