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Virginia State Police arrest former Fairfax County counselor for failure to register as sex offender

Darren Thornton was arrested for soliciting sex from a minor in November 2020 and ultimately convicted of the crime in March 2022.

RICHMOND, Va. — Police have arrested a former Fairfax County school counselor who previously stayed employed at a middle school for years after he was arrested and convicted for sex crimes.

New Fairfax County Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid fired former Glasgow Middle School Counselor Darren Thornton, 50, of Richmond, after she learned he had been arrested and convicted of committing a sex crime. Thornton was arrested for soliciting sex from a minor in November 2020 and ultimately convicted of the crime in March 2022.

According to the Virginia State Police Sex Offender and Firearms Investigative Unit, Thornton was arrested again Thursday. He faces multiple charges for failure to register as a sex offender. Officials claim Thornton also faces charges for providing false information and incomplete paperwork to state police with registering for the sex offender registry on two separate occasions. 

Thornton was taken into custody with the assistance of the U.S, Marshals Service. He is being held without bond at the City of Richmond Jail.

On Facebook, Chesterfield County Police Chief Colonel Jeffrey Katz wrote that his department did email multiple addresses someone with FCPS gave them over the phone for Brabrand. However, those emails ultimately bounced back. Katz also revealed that Thornton falsified information about where he worked when registering on Virginia’s Sex Offender Registry. He said Thornton listed he was “self-employed” when he was a counselor with FCPS.

DC, Maryland, and Virginia all require offenders to self-register, so people can learn the nature of offenders' crimes, where they live and their identifying features.

Virginia also tries to deter offenders from falsifying information by warning them beforehand falsification is a crime.

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WATCH NEXT: Fairfax County Public Schools fires counselor over sex crime charges

This story starts in the summer of 2020. Fairfax County Public Schools hires 50-year-old Darren Lamar Thornton to work as a counselor at Glasgow Middle School.

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