OSU food service workers learn sexual predator working near kids
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Employees from Oregon State University have learned a sexual predator is working on campus and serving food to hundreds of their children.
Christopher Wayne Wacek, 39, is listed on the Oregon State Police Sex Offender website as a sexual predator. He works at the school’s Arnold Center Food Service. It's not just college students who eat there, but kids as young as 8 years old, as well.
Food service workers, who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation by the school, said Wacek has been working alongside them at OSU since 2006.
They started looking into his background when they noticed Wacek, who is a cook at Arnold Center Food Service, showed a special interest in serving children. They said students and children both expressed how Wacek made them feel uncomfortable.
That's when they found Wacek's a sexual predator who sodomized a 5-year-old girl for five years until she was 10. And, they said, Wacek always rushes to serve children food, including children from local schools, camps on campus and children from the OSU employee daycare.
"His job is to be in the back and prepping food and cooking. He's not a server. They have students who do that," said one worker who also said Wacek makes it a point to come out whenever he sees children.
One employee in particular was appalled when she learned Wacek's criminal history.
"It upsets me a lot," she said. "And the reason I am fighting is because I am a victim of this type of abuse when I was five and no one listened to me. And no one helped me."
Employees said after workers reported Wacek's background to food service managers, they were told not to worry because Wacek's a "nice guy."
A spokesman for the school and an Arnold Center manager said Wacek is always supervised when kids are near him. But the workers said that's not true.
University spokesman Steve Clark said OSU Human Resources is investigating whether Wacek was supervised when he came into contact with children. He said administrators are now making sure there is always a manager with Wacek when children are nearby. Additionally, the school did a background check on Wacek and still hired him.
Clark said state law does not allow OSU to not hire a job applicant solely because they are a registered sexual predator.
If you have a story for one of our On Your Side Investigators, send them an email at investigators@katu.com.
I am coming forward as a former employee at Arnold. I worked with Christopher for several years. I never saw him serve a customer. The only time I have seen him leave the kitchen was to get water or attend mandatory staff meetings.Â
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I am not defending Christopher's past actions. However, he has paid his debt to society and is one of the best workers that UHDS has. He is at Arnold to make a career, not to pray on children.Â
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I want to straighten a few other things out.
In response to sister mary: if he was on the serving line, that was not his choice. I know for a fact he would have preferred to stay in the kitchen. 99.9% of the time, servers are students, as pointed out by another worker. If he was serving, it was an unusual circumstance out of his control.
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In response to margay1: Christopher does not have regular contact with customers, which are mostly college students anyway. During summer conferences, there are some kids, but I never saw Christopher have any contact with them, or even attempt to have contact with them.
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To correct some other false statements:
"They started looking into his background when they noticed Wacek... showed a special interest in serving children."
That is not how things happened. Christopher's actions did not spark an investigation. Some student employees happened upon his "history" online and spread the news. Rumors spread like wildfire.
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"Wacek always rushes to serve children food."
I personally have never seen him serve. And if you are serving at Arnold, you stand behind a counter, and the customers come to you. You just stand there and whoever is next in line tells you what they want. You hand them their order and they go on their way. There are no waiters or anything like that. If Christopher was rushing, it was because he always rushes.Â
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"His job is to be in the back and prepping food and cooking. He's not a server. They have students who do that,' said one worker who also said Wacek makes it a point to come out whenever he sees children."
Like TheTruth said, he is one of the hardest workers I've ever met. He doesn't have time to rush out and stare at children. He is too busy in the kitchen. Management would have likely fired him if he stopped working to look at customers.
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The rest of the article is true. OSU did have knowledge of Christopher's history when they hired him. They determined that he is within his rights to be there. He is a talented cook and a hard worker. That is why he is there.
Shame on you speaker. Â The only "agenda" these employees had was to protect children. Â You should not question a person's tragedy that actually did happen. Â Your reaction is very typical of why abuse victims are afraid to say anything. Â Attack the victim and glorify the abuser. Â By the way, this person asked for the transfer. Â There is documentation of evaluations and of the transfer, it was not forced. Â Get your facts straight. Â "The Truth", you were not there when the cheerleaders were in the dining center and he was at the serving line. Â
Well I happen to know this man and the entire story behind it so before you people go and pass judgements you would need to know the real story. This employee is one of the hardest working people I've ever known more than 90% of the employees at that dining center. He's done nothing but help out OSU and be an extremely va.ued employee. I worked there for five yrs so I know that's a huge lie. He NEVER went out and served anyone. He works and stays in the back. That's a complete lie so people need to get their facts straight.
Since he shouldn't have contact with minors he shouldn't be in this position. Despite the fact that his job description says he is not supposed to be serving the public therefore has no contact with the kids it doesn't include the fact that some college students are minors. My daughter attended college as a minor. I attended college with students that were minors when they started. Not to mention, many schools have cooperative program with high schools. I worked for a university that had a daycare on campus. My daughter attended a camp at a university as a minor. I can think of numerous reasons for minors to be on campus and actually be in the dining hall kitchen not to mention walking down a path when employees are coming and going or taking out the trash or doing some other job related errand.
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This guy must be related to someone or something since there is so much justification to not hire him.
"Clark said state law does not allow OSU to not hire a job applicant solely because they are a registered sexual predator."Â Let me guess he just happend to be the best candidate for the job right??
One where they knew he would be in close proximity to children again. There is your state workers best judgment on display folks.
 @jpdx00 "His job is to be in the back and prepping food and cooking. He's not a server. They have students who do that," said one worker who also said Wacek makes it a point to come out whenever he sees children.
that POS needs to be exterminated
Speachless!!!!!!!
WOW
Unbelievable.
Sounds like Theresa Davidson has an agenda-She said no one listen to her when she "claims" it happen to her and she was forced to transfer from Arnold because of poor performace. There is also a person, Jeremy, who is a drunk at work participating in her interview with KATU agreeing with her- Whitney's integrity is also questionable. What are under age children doing on a college campus without suppervision? Let's get to the facts and not rely on someone who sounds like they have issues and are willing to attack anyone.
if I were Columbo, I might suspect that this comment came from human resources since no one but HR knows that these specific allegations were investigated and nonfounded in the end. There seems to be a lot of investigating going around of bogus complaints when having a sex offender around doesn't warrant an investigation? "Speaker" who are you and are YOU the one with the agenda? The only agenda these employees have is to find the guy a job that is NOT near children. Short and simple.
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All I have on my criminal record is a JAYWALKING CONVICTION and OSU would not hire me....
His restrictions state that he is to have NO CONTACT with minors, male or female. WTH?
He lives a double life like many people; serves food during the day and looks at kids at night.
"He is a nice guy" (Who sodomized a 5 year old girl for five years). I for one can not understand this at all.
For what he did continuously to a child he deserves to go someplace else.
Whoever hired him and allowed him to work around children needs to perhaps lose their job?
The someplace else he needs to go is not a nice place.
Whoever the next up management individual needs to possibly also lose their job.
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"Clark said state law does not allow OSU to not hire a job applicant solely because they are a registered sexual predator."
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That doesn't mean they can't give him a job doing something else. Cleaning toilets or pulling weeds would be more appropriate for the likes of this guy.
"Employees said after workers reported Wacek's background to food service managers, they were told not to worry because Wacek's a "nice guy."
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"Clark said state law does not allow OSU to not hire a job applicant solely because they are a registered sexual predator." Â (both quotes from the story)
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You mean - SERIOUSLY - that they can't decline to hire an applicant who is a registered sex predator, with a sex crime involving a young child, when the job they would be doing involves regular contact with kids in about that same age group?!? Â Gee... WHY are we bothering to register them at all?!? Â Â
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If I had a young son or daughter who ate meals there, and I found out about this "discovery" ~ AND that OSU knew about it, but chose to do nothing 'cause he's a "nice guy" ~ they'd be peeling me down off the ceiling..! Â I was never the over-protective "helicopter"-type parent, but this is INSANE! Â Â What are these people THINKING?!?
 @margay1 He's supposed to be a cook but weaseled his way into serving people on the food lines, so its all on him and his supervisor but no one else.  Cooks are supposed to stay in the cooking area; I know because I used to work at the UO dining hall that made food for campus. Â
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When I worked there, we had no contact with the public whatsoever for the most part so I think the university is doing nothing wrong whatsoever...only the supervisor.
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@portlandborn83 Thats why you dont put a man with that kind of past in that close proximity to children. Imagine the outcries if we put him in a job serving alcohol while he was a recovering addict.    This is the supervisor's fault how?? THis man should not need a paid babysitter to do his job either.
 @jpdx00  @portlandborn83 "His job is to be in the back and prepping food and cooking. He's not a server. They have students who do that," said one worker who also said Wacek makes it a point to come out whenever he sees children.
These scum bags are crawling all over the place. Once a scumbag, always a scumbag!