Not as much explaining to do as the rapist in this case though.

Not really. It was probably a plea down to misdemeanor assault. Typically background checks are for felonies. That's probably all there is to it.

Background checks involve paper work. Either they screwed it up or the police did. I'd imagine it wouldn't be hard to tell which one it was.

Hmmm . . .

"had been arrested in a 1991 rape investigation but was eventually convicted of assault."

vs.

"an arrest for rape that resulted in a conviction"

I see what you did there! Sneaky.

The rape charge in 1991 was plead down to a lesser charge of assault. Therefore this did not show up on background checks. The YTN board of directors has posted a letter on the theatre's website (see link below) which answers to some of the concerns that have been voiced about Keylin's employment at YTN.

I understand that situations like this cause very stong reactions in people (rightfully so). Therefore it is especially important to have all of the facts. Let the court system hold Keylin accountable and lets not punish the theatre unduly. My experience is that they care deeply about the safety of the children at the theatre and take extensive measures to protect them. It is also important to note that NO children from the theatre were involved in this.

I would hate to see a reputable, beneficial organization unfairly persecuted for the terrible actions of an employee that occured outside of work.

http://www.youththeatre.org/letter.htm

I think it's really nice that you try to bring down a youth theatre along with this man. isn't the power of media great? let's just ruin the reputation of a place for kids based on assumptions. instead of slandering one person, you should just group the entire staff of youth theatre northwest with ben keylin, who are likely horrified about what is going on. how about doing your research before you joke about something like this. you should feel great about yourself brendan kiley. great reporting.

We are all pissed and freaked out when things like this happen - and they happen all the time!

YTN ran background checks on Keylin, and because the charges had been lessened, the misdemeanor conviction did not turn up at the time. It is also worth noting that the background check info was just then in the process of being computerized. In that process, felony convictions were entered first, from current to past. Then lesser offenses were entered. So old misdemeanor offense may turn up now. I would encourage everyone who works with children to re-run all background checks on all employees & volunteers, as the system is working better now. It would not have taken a whole lot of research to learn about this problem before writing a piece condemning YTN for a record-keeping problem that was NOT theirs.

It is also worth noting that the vast majority of sexual violence is perpetrated by someone who is known to and trusted by the victim. (Keylin is accused of raping the daughters of a friend, not any student at YTN.) Rather than lashing out at YTN, we should be reaching out to each other and discussing these problems in a way that increases understanding and decreases the likelihood of violence.

Blame the perpetrator. Then create a community that supports survivors and makes it harder to offend.

But don't blame YTN, they are an incredible resource to children all over the city - creating great theater by and for children. They deserve our support.

Here is a piece I wrote about how to talk to children about rape: http://justcauseit.com/blogs/alyssa-royse/talking-kids-about-rape