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A Clayton man accused of identity theft taught four local schools, WRAL News has learned.
His employment records show he used at least three different names.
Gregory Pettiford is facing two felony charges for identity theft and two misdemeanors for having a fake driver’s license and social security card, according to arrest warrants. Court documents say Pettiford used someone else’s driver’s license number to apply for a position at Crosscreek Charter School in Louisburg.
Louisburg Police Chief Travis Lincoln told WRAL his department started investigating last month after the school “noticed some inconsistencies in Mr. Pettiford’s paperwork.”
Lincoln said Pettiford did not have any interaction with children.
Following the arrest, the director of Crosscreek Charter sent a letter to parents saying that Pettiford provided several falsified records showing he was a licensed educator in both North and South Carolina and Maryland. It goes on to say that Pettiford worked on campus for five and a half days during teacher workdays. The director ends the letter by saying “moving forward potential new hires will also agree to be fingerprinted and submit the results in order to receive an employment contract.”
After his arrest, WRAL News got a tip that Pettiford had also worked at Wake Forest Charter Academy. When asked, Wake Forest Charter Academy spokesman Cory Olsen said, “These are unsettling allegations that shocked everyone in our school community.”
On Wednesday, Olsen told WRAL that Pettiford is “no longer employed by our school.”
“Our standard practice is to perform background checks on all staff members before they can be in our school, and the process was completed for this individual according to state guidelines,” Olsen said. “Student safety remains one of our highest priorities, and we will fully support all police investigations into the matter.”
Earlier this week, Durham Public Schools told WRAL that “Bishop Grey Pettiford” was an employee from Sept. 6, 2023, to April 3, 2024. The spokesperson declined to confirm where Pettiford worked, saying tenure information was the only public information available.
An Apex parent, Bethani Wilson, told WRAL this week that her son had a teacher named Bishop Pettiford for classes in world cultures and religions and in AP world history in the 2024-25 school year at Triangle Math and Science Academy in Apex.
“He was always a really good teacher,” Hilton Wilson said, saying he felt he learned a lot in the class.
Hilton said that within the first three weeks of school, one student had searched Pettiford’s name and found information about Pettiford’s previous arrests and mugshots.
WRAL found a criminal history associated with Pettiford dating back to the 1980s. Many of his charges include fraud, from writing bad checks to impersonation to stealing.
Hilton said many different students reported what they found to administrators, but nothing happened.
“We looked at our school more like, ‘Wow, they didn’t do anything about it,’” Hilton said. “They blocked on the school Chromebooks so we couldn’t look up his name.”
WRAL asked Triangle Math and Science whether they received information about Pettiford’s criminal history from students or parents. The school’s HR manager only responded to refuse to answer any of WRAL’s questions.
“TMSA Public Charter Schools takes the privacy of all current and former employees seriously. As such, we do not disclose personnel information, including job titles or dates of employment, without proper legal authorization or consent from the individual in question,” HR manager Davut Bozkurt wrote in email.
Wilson said she wasn’t concerned about her son’s safety.
“He didn’t seem like he was a dangerous man. He seemed like he was just trying to get by.”
Wilson was more concerned with the school’s vetting process for teachers.
“It doesn’t seem like there is much of a vetting process. The students were able to Google this man’s name and find this information. We were able to look up 14 mugshots,” she said.
According to TMSA’s handbook, an “inquiry” into each prospective employee is required.
“Conviction of a crime that involves dishonesty may result in automatic termination of employment. Before any decision is made, the nature of the crime and circumstances surrounding the conviction will be considered,” the handbook reads.
Hilton said it was nearing the end of the school year when Pettiford was no longer in the classroom. He told WRAL News that he tried to reach out to Pettiford over email, but that message bounced back.
Wilson said she was surprised when she saw Pettiford’s recent arrest in Franklin County and that he had taught at two other schools.
“I assumed other schools would have a better vetting process,” she said.
North Carolina law doesn’t require schools to conduct background checks on employees, though it’s a common practice. Our state has no uniform procedures for conducting checks.
According to state law, “each local board of education must have a policy on whether and under what circumstances an applicant for a school personnel position shall be required to be checked for a criminal history before the applicant is offered an unconditional job.”
Local boards require the person to be checked by the State Bureau of Investigation “be fingerprinted and to provide any additional information required.”
Security expert Jason Russell told WRAL that fingerprinting is a crucial part of the verification process.
“The fingerprints would’ve obviously revealed that this wasn’t the person that they said they were,” Russell said.
WRAL tried calling every phone number associated with Pettiford; almost every single one was disconnected. We also emailed his attorney. We haven’t immediately heard back.
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