Despite a felony record and a lewd conduct conviction, Mobile Ed Productions hired him to put on an astronomy program at a San Gabriel elementary school last year. Daniel Roy Smith, 43, of Fullerton was arrested a day after the assembly at Washington Middle School and was later tried on charges of inappropriately touching four girls during the presentation.
Prosecutors have said they will retry Smith on the one remaining felony count of committing lewd acts on a child under 14.
"How would I know what service to use? Tell me, " Thompson said. "I'm supposed to do a double-check on somebody because it didn't come up? I don't know how they do this stuff."
Smith was hired through Mobile Ed by Washington Elementary's Parent Teacher Association. At his trial, prosecutors said Smith's criminal history includes a 1996 arrest for masturbating while parked in front of a playground in Anaheim.
In 1996, Smith also pleaded guilty to a felony count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, and was sentenced to two years in prison, according to court records.
In 1994, Smith pleaded guilty to three felony counts of receiving stolen property and one felony count of unlawfully taking of a vehicle and was sentenced to 16 months in state prison.
Washington Elementary's PTA stopped working with Mobile Ed after Smith's arrest, said Mandy Ng, who was PTA president at the time. "They're not really up to the standards that will be safe to our students, " Ng said.
San Gabriel Unified board member Scott Svonkin said he recommended that the district's schools and PTAs stop working with Mobile Ed.
"The firm that hired this predator should not be allowed to do business with us, " Svonkin said. "This company failed us once, and I think the risk is too great for them to fail us again." The school district does not regulate the hiring of contractors by the PTA, said district board President Lee Freeman.
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