FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Editor's Note: Former Glasgow Middle School counselor Darren Thornton was arrested on child sex charges in November 2020. By law, the Chesterfield Police Department had to notify the Fairfax County Public School System of the arrest. But it appears the emails sent by the police department bounced back. The messages, obtained by WUSA9 through a Freedom of Information Act or FOIA, were never delivered. See the most updated story version here.
Officials fired a Fairfax County middle school counselor after it was publicly revealed he was arrested for soliciting a minor for sex nearly two years ago. Now, the timeline regarding the circumstances of his termination is turning heads.
Fairfax County Public Schools terminated Darren Thornton, 50, of Richmond, from his counselor position at Glasgow Middle School last week.
According to court records, he was convicted of soliciting sex from a minor in March. He ultimately received five years probation for that offense.
However, it turns out officials at Fairfax County Public Schools were made aware of Thornton’s run-in with the law much earlier than that.
Chesterfield County police officers arrested Thornton for that sex crime in November 2020. Court records showed that police in that Richmond suburb then alerted former Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Brabrand of Thornton’s arrest the next day.
School officials never removed Thornton from his position.
Brabrand ultimately left FCPS in June to take a job as the executive director of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents.
After Brabrand’s departure, Chesterfield Police then alerted FCPS again that Thornton had been arrested for soliciting sex from an adult online in June.
The next month, Dr. Michelle Reid then took over as FCPS’ superintendent.
She said she learned of Thornton’s arrest and subsequent conviction in late July. Reid said she then moved to terminate Thornton from FCPS last week.
Since then, Reid has ordered a third-party investigation be launched to determine why Thornton was allowed to stay in the school district so long.
The investigation will be handled by an outside attorney, according to Reid. A report may be made available in the next several weeks.
“Part of the responsibility of the third-party investigator is to put together both that fact pattern and a timeline of events in terms of who knew what, when, and then what did they do about it?” she said.
Some FCPS parents called the situation facing Virginia’s largest schools division disturbing.
“If this information was available to leadership, [and] the administration and they sat on it, that may bring up some more questions from parents, family, and the community,” FCPS parent Dr. Henri’ Thompson said.
This controversy comes just a year after the neighboring Loudoun County Public Schools division found itself embroiled over a sex assault scandal that attracted national attention.
Reid said she wanted parents in Fairfax County to know they are doing everything they can to keep students there safe.
“I understand that this situation really is about trust,” she said. “And, it's clear that based on everything we now know, that this is a breach of trust for our community. And, I want to acknowledge that and let our community know that we are doing everything we can.”
It remains unclear if Thornton was working remotely from his listed address in Richmond for the last two years.
WUSA9 also reached out Dr. Brabrand about why Thornton was allowed to stay in his position during his tenure. The former superintendent has yet to respond to a request for comment.