Vera House knowingly hired level 2 sex offender to work with victims of sexual violence
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Vera House, a Central New York non-profit that helps survivors of domestic and sexual abuse hired and employed a registered sex offender for the past two years. Now the Syracuse-based organization is responding to community concerns that were brought to the attention of CNY Central.
Marcus Jackson is the man in question, and Vera House says he was terminated last week. In New York State, Jackson is a level two registered sex offender. Level three offenders are considered the most dangerous.
Jackson was convicted of unlawful sexual activity with a minor involving 15- and 16-year-old boys in 2000.
CNY Central profiled Jackson in early July, highlighting his role with Vera House.
“The one thing that Vera House is able to do is provide counseling for that, to help individuals through what they are experiencing and help them release that trauma or deal with it,” Jackson said during the July interview. “That starts toward the road of healing.”
“Our young folks are dealing with stuff the only way they know how,” said Jackson. “They learn this stuff from the generations that come before them. All of these are learned behaviors in how to inappropriately deal with trauma.”
Jackson, who is also a pastor, was part of the Clergy Emergency Response team in Syracuse too.
He and others would be some of the first people on the scene after violence in the City of Syracuse, often with families of young victims of gun violence.
Vera House hired Jackson in October 2020 and he worked with the organization up until August 1.
The organization’s leaders say they knew about Jackson’s criminal past before they decided to hire him.
On Tuesday, CNY Central Investigative Reporter Mary Kielar went to the leaders of the non-profit to ask why they decided to hire a sex offender for a role that works with victims of sexual and domestic violence.
When asked if Jackson approached them for the job and how the vetting process is carried out, Vera House Co-Executive Director Randi Bregman said, “Marcus applied for a position to be an advocate here at Vera House, so he came to us in the applicant pool that we had at that period of time.”
Bregman says Jackson was honest about his criminal past to hiring managers.
The New York State’s Division of Criminal Justice lists Jackson as a level two sex offender and states that he was convicted in 2000 for crimes committed in 1998.
His victims were 15- and 16-year-old boys.
Mary then asked Bregman when she first learned that Jackson was a registered sex offender.
“Our hiring managers were very interested in bringing him into Vera House, but recognized that there the sex offense history,” said Bregman. “They didn’t have that experience in the past, so they came and asked if it would be a reason that we could not hire him. So, we did a little bit of research and found that there were some positions that we wouldn’t be able to hire him for, and we knew that we didn’t want him working with people that were underage.”
When asked if the situation was concerning, Bregman said, “No, I think what was concerning to us would be if we did a background check and something came back that was more recent or that he hadn't told us about.”
Despite Jackson telling us in his July interview that his role impacted the lives of young people, Bregman claims the victims he worked with were all over 18 years old and that any contact with minors was in his volunteer capacity with the Clergy Emergency Response Team.
The victims Jackson worked with at Vera House were dealing with trauma after sexual, domestic, and other types of abuse.
“We believe in the capacity for people to change, and we hold values simultaneously which I think is often hard for people to do,” said Bregman. “We value the safety of all victims and survivors and potential victims. At the same time, we value the humanity of everyone, including somebody who may have committed harm.”
“How do you juxtapose the advice of ‘people can change’ to advice you would give a victim who is escaping or trying to escape a cycle of abuse,” Investigative Reporter Mary Kielar asked.
“Actually, it might surprise you to hear Mary, but I wouldn’t advise somebody that people can never change,” said Bregman.
CNY Central’s interview with Jackson in July led to a call from a viewer on Monday who was very concerned about Jackson’s role with Vera House, given his sex offender status.
Vera House also heard concerns after the story and decided to terminate his employment.
CNY Central asked Bregman, "would Marcus Jackson still be working here if the story that we did on July 15th featuring his position did not air and others started asking questions in the community. Do you think he would still be working here and would that be okay if people found that out at some point other than now?" She replied, "yes. The fact that he had a sex offense 20 years ago is not the reason that Marcus is not working here any longer. We came to the mutual agreement and understanding when there was reaction I would say to the interview that prompted some people to raise questions and push in. And we came to a mutual understanding with Marcus that for the interest of himself and the work he wanted to do...in the interest of Vera House, that it made sense for us to have an agreeable separation at that time. But would we have released him from employment because of something from 20 years ago that we knew about? No, we would not."
Bregman says there is no policy at the organization that prevents sex offenders from being hired.
When asked if she stands by the decision to hire Jackson, Bregman said, “I do, and I think that we would make a similar decision again if somebody came to us and acknowledged a 20-year-old sex offense.”
When asked about the optics of the decision, especially in the sensitive line of work, Bregman said, “I appreciate that, and I will say Vera House tries not to make decisions based on optics, but we try to make decisions based on our values.”
Jackson made about $40,000 per year in his position.
He was the sole employee involved in a pilot program that used funding from the state’s Office of Victims Services.
Vera House said anyone concerned with Jackson’s former employment can contact them directly.
After this report aired, Bregman contacted us saying Jackson sent a resignation letter despite her using the word "termination" with us in previous communications.
