No, that headline is not a joke. Through their extensive network of informants, News 9 has discovered that an unregistered sex offender has been working at the Oklahoma State Fair. His name is William Chase and he's pictured above. The story is part of a brand new Channel 9 investigative series called "Things That Are Not Surprising At All."
Via News 9:
A convicted sex offender was caught operating a children's ride at the Oklahoma State Fair.
An anonymous tip led police to arrest 45-year-old William Chase.
According to court documents, Chase arrived in Oklahoma City on Sept. 10 and failed to register with the state.
When officers made contact with Chase, they discovered he was operating a ride that was frequented mostly by young children.
As investigators looked further into Chase's record, they found he had failed to register in several other states in which he had spent an extended period of time.
Officers then placed Chase under arrest. He was booked into the Oklahoma County Jail. Details of his bond are not known at this time.
I don't want to sound like I'm sticking up for sex offenders here, but the people have to work somewhere. Shouldn't it be at the State Fair Midway? It makes a lot of sense. The fair is only open for 10 days or so. Plus, we were trained at a young age to assume that most of the employees at the fair have have to register for some sort of government list, and therefore we're already cautious. I think that's why most people go to the fair in large groups.
Anyway, here's a statement that the State Fair issued to News 9:
"We promptly asked our longtime carnival company to review its employment procedures and practices to determine what happened after we learned of the situation last night. In a meeting last night with the head of the carnival company, we firmly expressed our disappointment and made it abundantly clear we will not tolerate any careless hiring practices. Our stance is clear at the Oklahoma State Fair. We expect every concessionaire, operator and exhibitor to follow the law and our rules to ensure our guests have the safest and best experience possible."
Can you imagine that phone call:
"We just got a call from a local TV station! They found an unregistered sex offender working at ride!"
"Only one?"
Seriously, the fact that they only found one unregistered sex offender should be the story here. Either News 9 really sucks at reporting (probably true) or the state fair has really cleaned up its image (probably not true).
