A 68-year-old Fort Worth man accused of sexually assaulting a family friend’s young daughter almost four years ago has been working at the Burleson Public Library as a part-time library aide.
Harold J. Ard has previous convictions for public lewdness and prostitution.
Library and city officials said that, until an inquiry by the Star-Telegram on Thursday morning, they were unaware of Ard’s past conviction and of the aggravated sexual assault of a child charge filed against him on Feb. 20.
City Manager Curtis Hawk said Ard was placed on administrative leave without pay pending an investigation.
"It’s obviously a situation that we cannot allow to continue," Hawk said. "He’s gone while we follow up on it."
Ard has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the pending charge, according to court documents. His attorney, Mark Daniel, declined to comment Thursday.
Ard, who previously worked as a full-time librarian for Fort Worth, was hired by Burleson in 2003 before the city began requiring criminal background checks for such positions.
"That’s how Harold, his situation, kind of slipped by on us," Hawk said. "We weren’t checking the backgrounds for people in his position at that time."
The affidavit
Fort Worth police began investigating Ard in September after a woman reported that her niece had made an outcry about the sexual abuse.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Ard had been friends with the family for many years, and the girl and her younger brother sometimes stayed overnight at his house. The girl, now 10, told a forensic interviewer that during one of those sleepovers, she had fallen asleep on Ard’s couch and awoke to find him carrying her to his bed. She said Ard and a second man at the residence sexually assaulted her after Ard removed her clothes and that Ard also made her perform a sex act.
"The victim said this happened more than one time," Detective R.J. Zomper wrote in the affidavit. "The first time she was 5 or 6 years old."
Sgt. Marie Ornelas, supervisor of the crimes against children unit, said Thursday that police are still trying to identify the second man.
According to the affidavit, Ard met with detectives and acknowledged that the girl had stayed at his house but denied touching her.
Criminal record
Ard was arrested Feb. 20 and released from jail upon posting $40,000 bail. Tarrant County court records show that on March 9, a judge ordered Ard have no unsupervised contact with any child under 17 as an added condition of his bail.
A Tarrant County prosecutor said Thursday that she believes that Ard’s work at the library would be a violation of his bail condition.
"It takes only a matter of moments to molest a child, and if those with whom he worked were unaware of his charges, then his contact with children was not supervised," said Christy Jack, an assistant district attorney. "I will notify the court immediately and request that he be remanded to custody for violating the conditions of his release.
"The public has a right to be safe — especially when they bring their children to the library, of all places."
Tarrant County court records show that Ard was convicted of two charges of public lewdness, one in 1985 and one in 1986. He was also convicted in 1998 of prostitution and sentenced to 10 days in jail and a $164.25 fine, records show.
DEANNA BOYD, 817-390-7655
Posts
