The BBC has learned that a convicted murderer worked with children for nearly two years after being barred from doing so.

Read Also...:

As warming climate hammers coffee crops, this rare bean may someday be your brew

03-04, 2025

Owner of NYC day care where toddler fatally ingested fentanyl gets 45 years in prison

03-04, 2025

Trump's long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico are now in effect, kicking off trade war

03-04, 2025

Hundreds of Tesla vehicles recalled due to a software issue which may affect the steering wheel

03-04, 2025

The convicted man is 44-year-old Rashid Zaman from Bradford, West Yorkshire. In 2001, he was jailed for 15 years for the manslaughter of a man in Halifax who tried to stop him and two others from stealing a car.

After his release, Zaman began volunteering at the national charity St Giles Trust in 2021 and later became a paid employee, visiting schools and young people's homes. The charity said Zaman did not tell them he was barred from working with children. Senior managers dismissed him immediately upon learning of this. Zaman himself has not responded to the BBC's requests for comment.

The BBC has reviewed two "Disclosure and Barring Service" (DBS) certificates that St Giles Trust required Zaman to provide. The first certificate, issued in 2021, did not show that he was barred from working with children. However, the most recent certificate, issued in March 2023, clearly stated that he was barred. St Giles Trust stated that its senior managers were not made aware of the latest DBS check result until December 2024, meaning Zaman continued to perform his duties and had contact with 28 children after being barred. The charity said they were "deeply sorry."

Zaman and two other men from Bradford were convicted after the victim, Kevin Jackson, a father of two, tried to stop them from stealing his father-in-law's car. They stabbed Jackson in the head with a screwdriver and beat him with wood. At the time, the judge called the murder a "cowardly and appalling act." Zaman was sentenced to life imprisonment and released in 2017. Four years later, he began working for St Giles Trust, one of nearly 1,500 registered charities in England and Wales dedicated to helping offenders rebuild their lives across the country.

Enhanced DBS checks show any previous convictions and whether someone is barred from working with children. This is considered an important part of organizational safeguarding measures and is a requirement for anyone applying for work that involves contact with vulnerable groups, such as teachers, social workers, and healthcare workers. A former employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC that St Giles Trust's safeguarding in this case was "appalling," adding, "Clearly something has gone wrong."

The former employee said that Zaman, as part of the charity's SOS project in Yorkshire, had been into "around three" schools, sometimes alone. This early intervention program aims to prevent young people from turning to crime and is delivered by ex-offenders as part of their rehabilitation. The source said Zaman was "doing outreach work, supporting young people in schools, and liaising with families and doing home visits." The source called for stricter measures at the charity. "I feel really sad and angry because they've not only put young people at risk, but also staff at risk," the former employee said.

The DBS did not tell the BBC why Zaman was allowed to work with children in 2021 but then barred in 2023, as it does not comment on individual cases. The agency said serious offenses committed after 2006 could lead to someone being automatically barred from working with children, but offenses committed before that would lead to a discretionary barring investigation. Not all murderers are necessarily barred from working with children – some can appeal and convince the DBS they should not be on the barred list. However, for those on the barred list, engaging in "regulated activity" with the group they are barred from is a criminal offense. They could face a fine or up to five years in prison. In some circumstances, people on the barred list can still undertake up to three days of child teaching or training in any 30-day period. It is not clear whether Zaman exceeded these limits.

West Yorkshire Police said they have launched a criminal investigation. The BBC understands that Zaman has recently been arrested. DBS checks are sent directly to individuals, not the organization requesting the check. But a DBS spokesperson said employers have a responsibility to review employees' certificates. St Giles Trust declined to answer the BBC's questions about which schools Zaman visited, how often, and whether parents had been informed.

A spokesperson said Zaman did not tell the charity he was barred, meaning he continued to work with children. "This should not have happened," they added. "As soon as we were made aware, we immediately launched an internal investigation and re-checked all staff working with children in Yorkshire and found no other issues. We have since strengthened our internal processes to ensure this cannot happen again and are deeply sorry for the oversight."

The spokesperson said the charity has an "unwavering commitment" to safeguarding and reported the matter "immediately" to the Local Authority Designated Officer and the Charity Commission. They said that following the incident, they reviewed all DBS checks of staff working with children in Yorkshire and "no other issues were identified." They added: "Everyone we employ undergoes a rigorous risk assessment and criminal background check, and everyone is deeply committed to using their lived experience to help others. Evidence shows lived experience programmes like ours reduce offending by 21% while also providing meaningful employment allowing people to give back to their communities."

The national charity's income increased from £18.4 million in 2022-23 to £21 million in 2023-24 – with millions of pounds of funding coming from government grants and contracts. Since 2020, it has received nearly £400,000 of local project funding from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Alison Lowe, the region's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said she would not comment specifically on St Giles Trust. But she said suspending funding was one measure the council might take against organizations under investigation for alleged DBS breaches. She said safeguarding was the "most important issue" for any public authority.

When asked if it was an individual's responsibility to inform their employer if their DBS showed they were barred, she said: "I think it's critical that employers get a copy of that document so that they can jointly make the right decisions and ensure the safety of our communities and in particular, ensure the safety of our children and young people." The Charity Commission said they were investigating after St Giles Trust reported a serious incident. A spokesperson said they had opened a regulatory compliance case and were "assessing information to determine our next steps."