RICHMOND, Va. -- A former counselor for Virginia's largest public school system who kept his job for more than a year and a half after his arrest on charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor has been arrested for giving false information when registering as a sex offender.
Troopers said 50-year-old Darren Thornton was taken into custody without incident Thursday morning by the Virginia State Police Sex Offender and Firearms Investigative Unit with the aid of U.S. Marshals.
Thornton was arrested on four counts of a Failure to Register Violation for providing false information and incomplete paperwork to state police on two separate occasions when registering for the Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry. Officials said that happened when Thornton first submitted the paperwork and then again during a trooper's verification check by a trooper.
Officials said Thornton is being being held without bond at the city jail in Richmond.
"The investigation remains ongoing," troopers said.
Fairfax County Public Schools has launched an investigation into howThornton was able to keep his job as a counselor at Glasgow Middle School for 20 months after his arrest on charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor in November 2020.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and others criticized the school system after police in Chesterfield County, where Thornton was arrested, said they informed school administrators in Fairfax County at the time of the arrest in 2020.
Chesterfield policesaid Tuesday that the emails they sent back in 2020 never went through.
Thornton was arrested as part of an online sting when a police officer posing as a 17-year-old connected with Thornton over the internet.
The 50-year-old was convicted earlier this year and received a suspended sentence but was required to register as a sex offender.
Thornton's profile on the registry lists him as self-employed. Chesterfield County Police Chief Jeffrey Katz said Thornton lied when he described his employment status that way.
The Department of Corrections says it is investigating Thornton's post-conviction supervision and other aspects of its dealings with him.
Fairfax County Public Schools say Thornton was placed on leave in June when Chesterfield police called them to alert them to a second arrest in another online sting on charges of solicitation of prostitution and frequenting a bawdy place.
He was formally dismissed from his job earlier this month.
School system superintendent Michelle Reid said Friday in a letter to parents that the school system is looking to implement procedures to prevent similar issues going forward.
