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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Job Site Didn’t Mention Molester, Woman Says

DALLAS (CN) - Care.com matched a babysitter with a family whose father was a convicted sex offender, and he proceeded to expose himself to the young woman, the babysitter claims in court.

Brianna Williams, 21, sued the online matching service and Sherry Fawley, of Corinth, in Dallas County Court on Monday.

Williams claims she was solicited by Care.com, a service that tells caregivers its customers have undergone rigorous criminal screening and background checks.

Williams says that Care.com customers, such as Fawley, pay for the background checks to be performed on themselves, which are then provided to caregivers to take on jobs in their areas.

Williams claims that Fawley's husband is a convicted sex offender and that Farley posted the job listing on the website "despite having personal knowledge" that he "has a compulsion to engage in inappropriate sexual behavior."

Williams claims that when she was alone with Fawley's infant on March 18, 2013, Fawley's husband exposed himself to her.

Williams claims the company failed to perform a "cursory" criminal screening or background check on Fawley's husband that would have informed her of his two-year probated sentence and requirement to register as a sex offender.

The company failed to disclose that no criminal screening or background check would be performed on members of Fawley's household, Williams claims.

Meridith Robertson, Care.com's corporate communications director, told Courthouse News that the company is "deeply troubled by the incident."

"Our thoughts are with Ms. Williams and we have proactively reached out to local authorities to be of whatever help we can in this matter," Robertson said Tuesday afternoon in an email.

Williams seeks actual and punitive damages for negligence.

She also seeks consequential damages due to the delay in completing her nursing degree and resulting emotional distress and mental anguish.

She is represented by Grace Weatherly with Wood Thacker in Denton.

It's the second such lawsuit against Care.com recently. In late July, a mother in Wisconsin claimed that Care.com recommended a babysitter with a history of violence and alcohol abuse, and she got drunk on the job and killed the baby.

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