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WV Lawmakers to overhaul intern rules after sex offender hired

April 15th, 2016 by WCBC Radio

West Virginia lawmakers plan to overhaul hiring rules for paid interns after the House of Delegates employed a registered sex offender during this year's legislative session.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the Legislature didn't conduct a background check on 23-year-old intern Alexander Phillip Collins, who pleaded guilty to downloading and sharing child pornography in 2013 and worked as a paid intern for the House Education Committee this year.

Jackson County's Steve Westfall says interns this fall likely will be required to disclose any felony or misdemeanor arrests on their application form.

Westfall, a Republican, says staff also will run applicants' names through the West Virginia sex offender registry.

Payroll records show Collins was hired in early January and abruptly fired in early March, a week before the legislative session ended.

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