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April 9, 2008 - Three elementary schools in Delaware allowed a con artist to send fliers home with students advertising chess lessons to be held at the school. None of the three schools conducted a background check on Christopher Hackford, 21.

Hackford approached the schools about sending fliers home with their students and about using a classroom for his chess program. School officials required him to fill out a facility use form to use a classroom -- at no cost. They did not require him to get a background check.

It turned out that it was a scam that netted Kaplan $3600 that he got from parents for lessons. He only showed up for the first lesson in all three schools. Hackford -- who has larceny charges pending against him related to October 2007 thefts at several Lowe's stores in Massachusetts -- was arrested in February in Massachusetts on charges that he ran chess scams there.

Amazingly, state law mandates any vendor who goes into a school during the academic day or for a school function and has direct access to children without a teacher present get a criminal background check. State law leaves it up to districts whether to require a background check for a vendor who comes into the building outside of the school day.
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TT- Volunteers in most school and sport programs are required to have background and criminal checks. Why would schools grant access to children without any vetting whatsoever? These were children from K to fifth grade and he could have been a sexual predator.