Child sex offender hired by Dolton mayor faces new charges
DOLTON, Ill. - A convicted child sex offender who was hired by the village of Dolton to inspect homes is now facing new charges.
Lavelle Redmond was hired by Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard to go door-to-door to meet with residents.
He is now accused of violating his sex offender registration and is being held on $10,000 bond.
Trustees in Dolton said they were stunned and appalled by the hire, which they say was done by the mayor without their consent.
On Sept. 20, village records show Mayor Henyard hired the 46-year-old Redmond as a code enforcement officer — a job in which he goes into Dolton homes and businesses to inspect them and make sure they are up to code.
The problem is, Redmond is a registered child sex offender. He is on the Illinois State Police child sex offender registry.
FOX 32 News has learned Redmond spent 24 years in prison in Illinois after pleading guilty to taking part in a brutal gang rape and beating in the Roseland neighborhood in 1991.
He and three other people kidnapped and sexually assaulted two girls, ages 13 and 14.
Now, trustees in Dolton are demanding the mayor explain how and why she hired Redmond into a job that puts him in constant contact with the public. Dolton residents that FOX 32 talked to are stunned as well.
"Oh my god. Don't they supposed to do background checks before they allow these people to in these kind of positions?" one woman said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Henyard told FOX 32 last week they were taking this situation very seriously and conducting an investigation into the hire and into Redmond's background.
In addition, the spokesperson also could not say if Redmond was still on the payroll or not, and said they would not have any further comment until the investigation is completed.