UPDATED 3:38 PM: San Marcos PD Investigates Sexual Assault Of GJCC Student By Former Employee

By, Chris LeDoux

*Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include a statement from BrightSpring Health Services, who oversees the operation of Texas Hill Country School. 

The San Marcos Police Department is investigating the sexual assault of a Gary Job Corps student, which occurred last week.

On Thursday, Willie George Thomas, IV was arrested on sexual assault charges after the 19-year-old Gary student called police and reported he had been sexually assaulted; the victim had locked himself in a room and called for help.

Anthale Williams, the victim’s mother, said she received a phone call from a San Marcos Police Detective informing her of the incident.

Her 19-year-old son had been attending Gary Job Corps since February, and Williams had been initially keeping her distance to help him adjust to being away from home. 

According to Williams, her son reported Thomas had offered to drive him to San Antonio to see her; he had requested a two-day absence from campus on Thursday.

Interim SMPD Chief Bob Klett said, “The [alleged] offender transported the victim to his home the day before and the assault, which was sexual in nature, happened the next day.”

                        Willie George Thomas, IV

Williams told Corridor News, her son had planned on surprising her with a visit; Thomas had told him if he stayed the night off-campus, they could leave early Friday morning, and he would have three full days with his family. 

Thomas posed as an Uber driver to get onto the Gary Job Corps Center campus Thursday to pick him up, according to the victim.

Williams said officials from Gary Job Corps had informed her that Thomas had recently been fired for a similar incident.

However, Corridor News could not find a record of any previous arrests in Hays or surrounding counties’ records. 

“What I’ve always taught my kids is if you’re ever in a situation, you have to flip it; you got to act like you’re okay, and you’re not really scared,” Williams said. “Talk their ear off or whatever. That way that person will probably go to sleep.”

Thomas’s Facebook page states he worked as a Residential Advisor at Gary Job Corps but currently works at Texas Hill Country School.

Corridor News reached out to Gary Job Corps and Texas Hill Country School for comment and neither had returned our phone calls as of press time.

BrightSpring Health Services, who oversees the operation of Texas Hill Country School, returned Corridor News’ call Wednesday morning and issued the following statement regarding Thomas’s arrest.

“We are immensely concerned by the allegations and in no way condone the alleged behavior. Texas Hill Country Schools follow very stringent, state-regulated hiring practices. In instances like this, when an incident occurs involving an individual we employ, we take immediate action. Our top priority is providing the safest possible environment for our residents and other staff.”

Last week’s arrest for Thomas wasn’t listed on the SMPD Arrest Report for Nov. 14 or Nov. 15.

“My son, being 19, is able to check himself out,” Williams said. “The problem with that was Job Corps’ policy that anything that happens off-campus is not their concern. That didn’t sit well with me.”

Williams said she and her son have signed paperwork to allow the GJCC to notify her whenever he leaves campus in the future.

Williams and her family are going “full-throttle” with the case and was informed that it was now in the hands of the Hays County District Attorney.

Willie George Thomas Case number PREFCR-19-3539-C Gary Sexual Assault November 20 2019

 

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8 Comments

  1. A lot of the staff do NOT care about the kids there. There is one there now that is manipulating girls. Staff members treat the kids like they are trash. A good portion of these are good kids that CHOSE to come here to better their lives. We have even made calls up in the ranks both there and in other states on corporate level. We can never get response back. This has been through 2-3 different companies including when it was ran by corps of engineers. Nobody seems to care.

    1. You are correct. An under cover investigation needs to be enforced ASAP. It is my firm belief that many Male and Female staff (especially dorm/residential) are undiscovered/unreported sexual predators and PREY on those children (especially those in the foster care system).

  2. Interim SMPD Chief Bob Klett said, “The offender transported the victim to his home the day before and the assault, which was sexual in nature, happened the next day.”

    Did I miss something? This statement is libelous at best. “Offender”? Why did you print a statement such as that? This subject has NOT been proven guilty in a court of law. The interim Chief who made such a statement is putting SMPD at risk for a lawsuit, as well. You also included a statement of hearsay:

    “Williams said officials from Gary Job Corps had informed her that Thomas had recently been fired for a similar incident.
    However, Corridor News could not find a record of any previous arrests in Hays or surrounding counties’ records.”

    I know this is a small town newspaper, but this unprofessional,dangerous reporting is going to give you BIG CITY problems.

    Get right. Anyone with any discernment can surmise that there is more to this story than what you’ve printed.

    1. Hello David,

      Thank you for commenting. Corridor News printed only the information that officials were willing to provide them on the incident. Due to it being an active case, law enforcement would not release any further information than the time and date of the arrest, the statement from Chief Klett and the confirmation of the key facts of the incident.

      We did not change or alter anyone’s comments because one, it is not our place too; and two, our reporter did not want to paraphrase Chief Klett’s statement and cause any confusion or misrepresentation of the information, which has occurred in the past with other cases.

      We published the statement as we did not feel it was libelous; Chief Klett did not positively identify or label Thomas as the offender. We believe he used the term in a general reference in his description of the incident. Whether this individual is Thomas or not has not been determined. However, I can seek permission from the city to add the word “alleged” to Chief Klett’s statement.

      Corridor News allowed the comment regarding Mr. Thomas’s employment at Gary Job Corps because it had already been confirmed via several other means. He is currently employed with Texas Hill Country School. Corridor News’ reporter simply could not get in touch with anyone at Gary Job Corps Center themselves. As for a similar incident, it was not specified how the incident was similar; it’s possible his arrests may have been in another county or state and under a different charge. Or the incident was not reported at all.

      Thank you for reading Corridor News. We apologize for any offense you may have taken from our article. It was not intentional. Please let us know if you need anything else.

      Sincerely,

      Corridor News’ Managing Editor

  3. Sexual and physical assaults are nothing new within Job Corps ranks. Vetting employees, investigations and enforcement of law in known incidents, and leaving these tasks up to the contractors, absent involving local law enforcement, has been JCC contractors modus operandi for years. Look up OIG Reports as far back as the 1990s, and most recently 2014 at North Texas Job Corps, in McKinney, TX. This is a huge problem everywhere, but more so at Job Corps Centers because of the nature of the residential facility environment, and because Job Corps never addresses the issue.

    It will be of interest how this is resolved. Stay tuned…..

  4. Hello my name is juan montanez and ive been doing alot of research on my case with smpd. Ive looked everywhere and found it odd that tha story could not b found anywhere.they seem to have pulled tha story from every source but tha damage has been done already. Ive lost my job, my home an my wife and kids have gone thru so much pain an suffering. Tha ” other” “alleged” person they seem to b talkin about is me without being convicted. Every person has there time in court to prove there innocence yet its a total lack of professionalism an proper procedures goin on .ive got video proof of aqua 16s property manager accuse me of this wrong doing. So i got terminated for it. Without pay of my total wages i worked. Many laws have been broken an alot of unnecessary money.. Innocent til proven guilty is how i thought this country worked. Pain an suffering is all Relik Realty an smpd have caused my family. I demand an explanation of what i am being accused an nobody seems to give me an explanation. Lack of proper procedures is all i see.

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