Crisis Management: The case for background checks

The old marketing adage "Any publicity is good publicity" doesn't always wash when one of your employees rapes a child. Don't be stuck paying for expert Crisis Management as well as hefty legal fees. Smart employers minimize lawsuits for negligent hiring by investing in a comprehensive background check screening program. A well rounded and consistent background check program will not only protect your company's reputation, but will lower shrinkage and improve productivity.

Parents of St. Paul School students were stunned last week when the school’s janitor, Kevin Karbownik, 21, of 534 Tollgate Road, was arrested for repeatedly having sex with a 13-year-old girl from Bristol whom he met in an online chat room.

According to arrest affidavits, Karbownik told police he had sex with the girl 11 times from August until October. When Karbownik broke off relations because she was too young, the 13-year old turned him into police according to police reports.

“It was a consensual relationship, but he was 21 and she was 13,” Berlin Police Capt. Larry Schubert said. “He was cooperative. We called him and told him to come in at 7 a.m. and he came right in. He didn’t deny anything.”

The girl is not a student at St. Paul School and Karbownik is not thought to have had any inappropriate relations with any students.

“It is unsettling that a person who worked at the school could be doing this,” said a parent of a St. Paul student who wished not to give her name. “You hope the school screens the people who work there carefully so it is hard to believe that it happened at St. Paul. It’s such a great little school.”


St. Paul School Principal Patricia O’Neil Tiezzi was also stunned by the news but cautioned parents that every employee goes through a rigorous check before being hired at the private school.

“We do Vertis Training, background checks, fingerprinting and many other safeguards to insure that all of our potential employees are qualified and outstanding in every way to work here,” she said. “He (Karbownik) is a former employee, was a part-time employee and college student at the time. He worked in the afternoon and after school so his contact with our students was minimal.

“We do the best job possible to screen potential employees but like any employer when the employee makes bad personal decisions it is hard for us to control. It is another illustration of the evils of the Internet. Besides working to screen employees we teach our children about the potential hazards of the Internet and taught a “Lures Program” at the end of the last year. That is a child safety program dealing with the Internet.”

Tiezzi learned of the charges Thursday afternoon and then there was no school on Friday due to the snowstorm. A Christmas Craft Fair was scheduled for Monday at the school so Tiezzi said she did not speak to students about what happened.

“I just didn’t think it was the right time,” she added. “We have sent a letter home to the parents and we will address it with the students for their own safety. It is a tragedy and my heart goes out to all of those involved.”



Karbownik was charged with first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. He was arraigned last Thursday in New Britain Superior Court and held when he couldn’t make bail of $50,000. The bail was originally set at $75,000 but reduced to $50,000 according to Schubert. His next court date is Dec. 22.

Police talked to Karbownik in late November when they acquired a warrant to search his car, a 1987 Camaro, and his computer. He asked police if they were there about the 13-year old girl but said he never had sex with her. He said they met on the Internet and would instant message each other. He also said he would even go to her house in Bristol.

The police told him all of his conversations with her would be stored on the hard drive of his computer. He finally told the police his side of the story, saying he “messed up” and blaming his heroin habit.

He detailed each of the 11 encounters with the girl, whom he would pick up near her house in Bristol. The two would then drive around looking for places to pull off the road to have sex.

One encounter happened off the road near a Connecticut Light & Power substation on Beckley Road. The Berlin PD confiscated Karbownik’s car, computer and two pairs of women’s underwear.

Karbownik told police that he had sex with the girl in Berlin, Bristol and Plainville. It is anticipated that Plainville will also issue a warrant for Karbownik’s arrest and Schubert added he thought Bristol had already issued a warrant for his arrest.