"I said, 'You're kidding me,' Byrd recalls telling the BP official.
Now, Byrd says, that lack of screening has resulted in a convicted sex offender being charged with raping a co-worker.
A CNN investigation into the incident reveals a web of corporate finger-pointing after basic background checks were not done on those hired to remove oil from the beaches in and around Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Byrd said he told the BP official that "you're going to have every type of person coming in here looking for a job and you're going to have the criminal element in here and we're not going to know who we're dealing with if we don't do background checks on these people."
Byrd believes if a simple background check had been done, the alleged rape could have been prevented. Charles Rundy Robertson, the man charged in the case, had failed to register as a sex offender. He was also on probation for a felony. Yet, because no background checks were done, he was hired as a supervisor.
Original post @Abbie Boudreau CNN
Abbie Boudreau CNN
Abbie Boudreau CNN
