I posted earlier in this thread that for those who were interested, to conduct their own research and so that they could make up their own mind as to if there is any truth to the matter involving this individual, prior to his tenure at EK. I had taken some time to dig deeper, as I was amazed that an individual with such a history could make it to the LHS of a widebody here in the Gulf. I was going to keep what I had found to myself but given that the matter has been brought out into the open, I feel that perhaps what I had found may be of interest to fellow colleagues.
Firstly my understanding is that an individual will only appear on any state sex offender register if the state can verify that they are residing in that same state. In other words, it's pointless for a crime in California to be documented in records for California, when the individual is no longer residing there. This will explain why no searches are showing anything with anyone with the same name, as the records being searched are current and not historical. My understanding is that part of the conditions for being on the sex offenders register is that you have to report to the authorities of where you live at set time intervals as well as any planned change of address. Someone living in Dubai will not appear on any current sex offender register as they are not living in the US. Based on California DOJ records that I accessed online via a third party, there is an individual with the same full name as in a FAA ATP Certificate issued with the same DOB that matches from a copy of the old seniority list, as well as a photo of a striking resemblance, of an individual that was listed on the California DOJ - Sex Offenders Absconders list. There was no date from when this record was generated but it did state that charges were filed in August 2008. This alone is rather compelling in its own right. The definition of an absconder within the context of a sex offender as I understand it, is that it is someone who is in violation of their release conditions or that their whereabouts are unknown. If moving abroad is not reported then this may be classed as absconding?
I could not find any information concerning any court case or any sentence that was handed down but there was a ID number for the entry that was made in the California sex offenders registry. I would suspect that a conviction has to be made before a entry is made in the register.
However there are some conflicting questions that I could not answer myself. Firstly, wouldn't US immigration be keen to speak to the individual concerned when they were entering the US if they were an absconder, as I suspect anyone in this category would be flagged to US CBP? Perhaps his whereabouts were eventually known and the record of being an absconder is now out of date? Secondly if a prison sentence was imposed, then how would a gap in ones flying records be accounted for when applying to EK and the time between any court case and joining EK seems to be less than three years. If a probation order was imposed, would this still allow someone to fly commercially in the USA? Would a criminal record involving such a crime as this, preclude someone from gaining a airport/airline pass in the USA? I know that in many European countries at least, such a conviction will result in a ban on holding any airport pass regardless of the job involved and in the UK at least, the ban period appears to be commensurate with the severity of the sentence imposed.
Should we be dealing with the same individual, then it will be highly embarrassing for the company that someone with such a history can make it to EK and never mind to the LHS. If it is the same person, then it shows that security checks performed by the company on any new pilot are not particularly invasive and perhaps are only designed to highlight an individuals threat to local security? With the company employing expats from all over the world, the task of performing such arduous background checks will be onerous in terms of time and manpower and I would suspect there is not enough of either resource! There will be some countries that may restrict such information being circulated and the circulation of valid information maybe restricted due to corrupt practices in less scrupulous countries. Therefore the company is placing a lot of trust in the candidate being honest with any criminal history but should honesty be compromised, then the company will probably have little recourse to know otherwise. I suspect that EK would never employ anyone as a pilot with a conviction of this nature, so if it is the same person, then it raises the question of the accuracy of the data provided at the application stage. Any falsification that can be proved will (and quite rightly too) probably end up in immediate dismissal.
Finally I have spoken to two colleagues who have flown with the individual concerned and he claimed to both of them on separate occasions, that he is a active reservist in the US Military. Firstly I find it amazing that someone could still serve with a such criminal record, as I am sure the same offence would disqualify anyone at the application stage of joining the military. If we are dealing with the same person and if serving with such a record is not possible then it raises the uncomfortable question of what else may be not all it seems? Again, perhaps one of our American colleagues can provide some clarity as to if one could still serve with such a conviction.
Perhaps some colleagues maybe able to fill in the blanks that I could not find answers to but perhaps what I found out may dispel a myth or two and add some clarity to what is a rather bizarre situation. I stand to be corrected should anyone have more accurate information and I shall edit accordingly.