Persons convicted of official misconduct have no business being employed with the Government of Guam. That's what a bill by Senator Joanne Brown would ensure. In a public hearing on the bill today, Deputy Attorney General Gloria Rudolph said senators need to close the loophole in the law that has allowed agency heads to hire those convicted of misconduct - an example of which came as recently as this current administration.

"We've seen questionable exercises of discretion such as the hiring of a former DOC guard who had just been convicted of official misconduct for assisting drug-addicted inmates smuggle drugs into DOC and then finding a position at none other than the Port Authority of Guam, an obvious vulnerable point of entry for illegal drugs," said Rudolph.

She cited another example, an extremely disturbing case she said of a former Department of Education bus driver. "In 1992, Franklin Borja Camacho was charged with molesting two children, 9 and 10 years old, who were attending M.U. Lujan Elementary School and had the misfortune to be riders of Mr. Camacho's bus.  Mr. Camacho was convicted by a jury of official misconduct for pinching the buttocks of the 10-year-old girl who he was entrusted with transporting to and from school," she explained.

While Camacho was subsequently convicted, he could have been stopped at least four years earlier in another incident in which he was caught having sex with a 14-year-old. His punishment back then?

"He was suspended for 15 days and allowed to continue working as a bus driver," Rudolph noted. "He was suspended for 15 days and allowed to be around even younger children, who he subsequently molested."

With testimony such as that, Senator Brown suggests it might be worth putting even more teeth into the bill, noting, "In New Jersey essentially official misconduct is looked at as a 2nd-degree offense, and in New Jersey if convicted of official misconduct you could serve up to 10 years imprisonment and up to $150,000 in penalties," said the senator. "That's incredibly severe, but I think it also sends a very strong message, i dont know we'll see what kind of consensus we can get here, from the testimony there has to be a little more than not being employed in the Government of Guam."

The legislation she adds would be a step forward in restoring trust in government officials.