BCSD: Sex offender escorted off school property

BETHLEHEM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- According to the Bethlehem Central School District (BCSD), a paroled level three sex offender, who was contracted by a janitorial company, was escorted off the middle school premises on Friday after law enforcement received an alert. BCSD says there is no indication the suspect, identified as Michael Wilson, had physical or verbal contact with students, or that the person had been on school property before that day.

According to BCSD, Wilson was employed by North Country Janitorial Inc. and worked for roughly one hour in the middle school construction area as part of a cleaning team. The school district says Wilson also worked in the basement construction area at Slingerlands Elementary School from 6:10 to 9:57 a.m.

Wilson was located after a GPS strap violation alert occurred, according to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). BCSD says a paroled level 3 sex offender is not allowed on school property.

Bethlehem Police and DOCCS responded to Bethlehem Central Middle School, detained Wilson, and escorted him off school property around 11 a.m. Following Wilson's removal from the school, all remaining employees of the subcontractor were screened per district protocol.

Wilson was taken to Warren County Jail on a DOCCS warrant.

BCSD released a statement, saying, "Today’s security lapse should not have happened. The safety and well-being of our students is the district’s top priority. We are investigating what led to this gap in our safety protocols. Our facilities team is working closely with our construction manager, Turner Construction, the company that oversees all contractors to ensure that this type of incident never occurs again." The district sent a message to all parents and guardians regarding the incident.