Hiring Of Convicted Felon Previously Accused Of Molestation Prompts Lawsuit Against Company

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Steven Joel Spurlock [Photo courtesy Cochise County Sheriff's Office]

The gross negligence lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that a Sierra Vista company which provides behavioral services to children failed to conduct a formal background check of an employee who later kidnapped and sexually abused one of their young clients.

Steven Joel Spurlock was an employee of Caring Connections for Special Needs in August 2015 when an eight-year-old boy reportedly ran away. Dozens of community members -including Spurlock- joined law enforcement and military personnel to search for the boy, who was actually locked in Spurlock’s home where he was sexually abused.

The boy’s mother seeks monetary damages on behalf of her son “in an amount to be proven at trial” for his past, present, and future medical bills, as well as pain and suffering, impairment, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of earning capacity. The lawsuit filed in Cochise County Superior Court also seeks punitive damages to be determined by a jury.

Spurlock, now 43, accepted a plea deal which resulted in a 17-year prison term for kidnapping the boy followed by eight more years for luring a different boy for purposes of sexual exploitation.

“The question is what other victims are out there?” the family’s attorney Lynne Cadigan told Arizona Daily Independent. “This was a perpetrator with a long history of abusing children, and he worked with the most vulnerable children at Caring Connections. People should call if they have any knowledge about his activities.”

Caring Connections provides respite care and services for vulnerable children and victims of sexual abuse. The lawsuit alleges Spurlock applied for a job with the company in late 2014 and was hired despite a criminal history between 1997 and 2005 which included several felonies and prison sentences.

Spurlock was initially denied fingerprint clearance to work directly with children but with the help of Caring Connections’ HR department he applied for a “good cause exemption.”

“The duties of caring for troubled young children requires a careful background check and hiring process, as such children are extremely vulnerable and easily manipulated,” the lawsuit states.

One item that would have turned up in a formal background check was a police report in which Spurlock was accused of molesting a boy in 2002. Instead, Spurlock was hired and allowed to provide one-on-one care for the 8-year-old boy, eventually “grooming” him for abuse with gifts and visits to Spurlock’s home, the lawsuit alleges.

“Plaintiff had suffered prior sexual abuse and required special attention to ensure that he did not fall prey to any inappropriate behavior or individuals,” the lawsuit states. “Caring Connection’s negligent hiring practices resulted in serious harm to Plaintiff, which could have easily been prevented by proper hiring practices and adequate supervision.”

During the August 2015 fake runaway incident, Spurlock pretended to not know where the boy was, then reported that he “found” the boy hiding in Spurlock’s backyard. Company officials were purportedly aware that detectives questioned Spurlock’s accounting of the incident, but Caring Connections cleared him to work with children before the police investigation was completed, the lawsuit contends.

“During this time, Spurlock had continued and unbridled access to Plaintiff and other children enrolled in Caring Connections’ programs, despite Caring Connections knowing full well that Spurlock was under investigation for abducting and sexually abusing Plaintiff,” the lawsuit alleges.

Few details about Spurlock’s history were made public during his prosecution because the cases were resolved by plea deals. But the lawsuit describes several examples of Spurlock’s alleged misconduct with young boys, starting with a 1998 when Spurlock, then 21, reportedly performed oral sex on two boys about age 12.

Then in 2002, Spurlock was found in bed with a 12 or 13-year-old boy. Despite a restraining order obtained by the boy’s mother, Spurlock continued to have contact with the boy over the next several years, at one point allegedly helping him break out of a juvenile treatment center. Later the two lived together in Tucson, and were neighbors at the time of the 2015 kidnapping.

Investigators also interviewed a young man who described being molested as a 12-year-old by Spurlock after the boy’s guardians sent him to live with Spurlock around 2010. Communications between the two confirmed Spurlock offered the boy alcohol, clothes, and drug in exchange for sexual contact.

And in the week before the 2015 runaway-kidnapping incident, Spurlock offered another young boy alcohol and video games if he would come to Spurlock’s house to “cuddle.” It is that case which garnered Spurlock the 8-year prison term. It is unclear whether Spurlock met the boy through Caring Connections.

The defendants in the lawsuit are shown as Caring Connections For Special Needs LLC, Caring Connections LLC (an Arizona limited liability company), Caring Connections LLC (a New Mexico company), and Caring Connections Inc., as well as Spurlock. Also named are a number of current and former employees and company officials and their spouses.

The Arizona Department of Corrections shows Spurlock is ineligible for early release. Once he completes his sentences in December 2039 he must begin lifetime probation and register as a sex offender. Spurlock is also the subject of a felony detainer filed by Pima County which kicks in upon his release on the Cochise County sentence.

Cadigan is joined on the case by attorneys J. Tyrrell Taber and Christopher Post.