Many people will blame the parents; why are the children left alone, etc.?

      I won't blame the victims.  I will blame this dirtbag.  He should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

    I will still make recommendations of people that I have known for years.

Why are kids being left alone with strangers?  

My heart goes out to the victims and their families. 

How did the man have access to the kids/teens?  Presumably, the contractor was left in the home with the kids without supervision.  That would just never happen in my world. Sadly, I have learned to to trust others at this level. I would not leave a contractor in my home without me present ... under any circumstances.  I would not trust my personal belongings or my pet to be left unattended.  

Very sad case. This man ruined the lives of many. Don't leave  children alone with strangers. I think homeowners felt safe in their own place and this creep who has charm skills that he uses to hurt people. Would the person recommending be at fault? No, not unless you recommend him now after you know he's dangerous.  

And it doesn't matter if it's a handywoman or handyman nowadays, especially in Florida.

No, it doesn't impact my ability/desire to recommend trades people.  If it's not trades people, it's soccer coaches, teachers and priests... oh my!  Best bet is to teach your kids how to defend themselves.

Very sad and scary indeed.  It's not your fault and I would still refer your resources if asked.  We cannot be responsible for the actions of others.  Caroline Gerardo has a great response.  

That was the theme in the "The Green Mile" movie. As to referrals, they all come with caveats as in let the buyer beware. I guarantee nothing

My first thought was who in the heck leaves their kids alone with a service person.  We bet all our people extremely carefully and our clients never would leave their kids alone with a stranger - even he had been there many times before. I sure wouldn't!!

I am with Chris Ann Cleland .  My parents would have never left me alone with strangers. A

I don't want to even read it. It's heart breaking to hear this stuff. It is a problem if you recommend someone.

I only recommend those I know personally..... 

Genuinely curious how parents would not notice the following:

1) the handyman that they are paying to complete a job, is in your house, but not working on said job 

2) their child is not within sight

3) both handyman and child are out of sight... at the same time.

I'll just leave this right here.

First of all i would never have any work man in my home alone with my daughter. 

No matter how old the children are, they should never be left home with strangers in the house. This is SO sad, Jeff.

We cannot be the police, it is up to the parents to check out the people that are around their children.

Hi Jeff,

My heart goes out to the victims and their families....Very sad case. I like Fred Griffin "won't blame the victims.  I will blame this dirtbag.  He should be punished to the fullest extent of the law!"

Yes, Im geting to the point where I think twice before recommending someone. That's a sad story

I'm getting awfully close to not making recommendations at all for much of anything...-Kasey

Jeff Pearl Yes it would.

I heard this on the news. All of us need to be careful.

Jeff, thanks, now I will constantly worry about referring my vendors.

Yes.

How terrible.  This guy should have the book thrown at him. 

NO.

I had a handyman I'd used for 5 years no issues rob a house once years ago. I of course was blamed for the referral-guilt by association, even though the owner had used him several times in 3 years from my original referral date. I lost the client after 3 deals of history over it, but that revealed the client's character, not mine. I obviously fired the handyman, he was arrested any how; I'm very careful to vet out my peeps, but I'm not their keeper. That's life.

was the person alone?

Chris Ann Cleland nailed this one!

This world. That is an awful story and yes it would make me think twice.

These incidents can happen anywhere and at anytime. Look at all the secondary school teachers having sex with their students. These events are the exception thankfully.

I'm sorry for the victims and their families.   A couple of thoughts:  

Trust but verify.

Be mindful of your children around strangers.

Jeff Pearl - just wondering, why would one leave their kids at home with someone who is just a stranger?

I would only recommend people I know very personally.  If parents are not near - kids shouldn't be there. 

It would not as I vet all my referrals I give out

We used a handyman for several years and later found out he was on the sex offender registry. Grant it the offense was from 25 years ago but we stopped using him and sending him into homes. Can't stand the liability.

I hadn't heard about this - horrible story. I have to wonder why kids were left home alone, if that in fact was the case.

No.

If people are going to leave their children alone then NO! Not sure you can always know!

Every realtor has sad stories to tell what happended at OH.

Oh absolutely. Than again, I'm very careful about whom I recommend to work in anyone's home. I also suggest to parents that they not leave their kids alone at home with any kind of worker, inspector, etc. And in our area, there are people in these trades who will not enter a home with kids unless a parent or responsible adult is present.

I guess I would think twice.