McDonald's Misses Sex Offender's Troubled History - NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports

(Story created: 5/4/06) An exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation has uncovered new information about a convicted sex offender. He worked at a local McDonald's. And what we've now learned raises even more questions about what he was doing inside a restaurant that targets kids.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates: Hiring Sex Offenders

McDonald’s reacts to NewsChannel 5’s investigation and pledges to strengthen its hiring practices to keep out sexual predators. Read the company’s latest statement here. Part 1: McDonald's Restaurants Hire Child Molesters, Sex Offenders Part 2: Advocate Calls for Boycott, Sex Offender Says McDonald's Knew Part 3: McDonald's Manager Molests Kids, Gets Promoted Part 4: McDonald's Misses Sex Offender's Troubled History Part 5: McDonald's Beefs Up Policies to Keep Out Predators

McDonald's Responses

Click here to read the first statement from McDonald's corporate office about the allegations in this story. Click here to read a statement from a Tennessee McDonald's franchise owner regarding the incident that occurred in Franklin.

Federal Lawsuits

The federal government has sued McDonald’s franchises in Arizona, Arkansas and New Mexico for failing to protect teens from sex harassment and assault. Click a state to read more about these cases.

Background Checks

The founder of the National Foundation to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse, Jody Gorran, says getting an FBI background check is easy. Click here to watch an interview with Jody. Also, check out his web sites: fbifingerprintcheck.com and mrbackgroundcheck.org

Contact McDonald's

Some viewers have asked how they can contact McDonald's regarding this story. Click here to do so.

By all standards, Nicholas Aloyo has been a deeply troubled person for years.

Five years ago, he was convicted for soliciting sex from a minor.

Most recently, he was re-arrested for possession of child pornography.

"They allowed him to play with these children," says Scott Smyers, a former McDonald's supervisor and himself a sex offender.

Smyers tells NewsChannel 5 chief investigative reporter Phil Williams that, inside the McDonald's on Highway 96 in Franklin, there was no hesitation about letting Aloyo interact with children.

"They would allow Nicholas to be the one out in the lobbying with the kids, set up the little bowling alley for the kids, sing on karaoke with the kids," he recalls.

That despite the fact that Aloyo was listed right on Tennessee's sex offender registry for anyone to see.

"If they had done even a simple name check in the state of Tennessee through your TBI, they would have been able to uncover that he had a criminal history," says background check advocate Jody Gorran.

In fact, if managers at the McDonald's had driven two miles to the courthouse and pulled Aloyo's file, they would have found a report that describes a troubled history of misconduct with children as young as 10.

The report also says that, prior to his conviction, Aloyo had been fired from three other jobs for "inappropriate sexual comments" to employees and customers.

That's why he was rated a "high risk" and ordered not to accept employment in contact with minors.

"What is McDonald's thinking? What are they doing?" Gorran asks.

Smyers says, "They knew Nicholas Aloyo was a sex offender when they hired him."

As for the local McDonald's owner, all he will say is that Aloyo never should have been hired.

But, he hasn't said what he'll do to ensure that such high-risk offenders don't end up working inside Ronald's restaurants again.

If you have information for our investigation, e-mail us. The address: investigate@newschannel5.com.