Oberle
Trusted Member
I dunno, doesn't look much like an Easter Bunny to me. Guess hiring practices are down? :shrug:
A registered sex offender was recently hired as a mall Easter Bunny in Pennsylvania – and then quickly fired by that same company after only a few hours in costume.
Michael Jacobs played the character for just 12 hours at the Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, before he was "immediately terminated" after the company said it learned of his prior criminal record.
"An employee of Cherry Hill Photo who does the local hiring of the Mall Easter Bunny staff violated strict company guidelines and permitted a person to portray the Easter Bunny at the mall without first sending in the appropriate information to the corporate office for approval," the company said in a statement to PEOPLE.
The company said no inappropriate behavior was reported during Jacobs' time on the job and that the local manager in charge of hiring was suspended pending the completion of an internal investigation.
Jacobs, born in 1991, was first registered as a sexually violent predator under Pennsylvania's Megan's Law in July 2013, according to state records. His primary offense is listed as "unlawful contact or communication with a minor."
He has a tattoo of the word "pain" in all caps on his left arm and another tattoo of a pentagram on his left wrist, according to state records.
Jacobs was twice convicted in the sexual assault of a minor – in one case, having sex with a 15-year-old girl according to court documents obtained by Channel 11 News in a Friday report.
"It's unbelievable something like this could slip by. You think the company would be a little bit more thorough in their work," one parent told the station.
Michael Jacobs played the character for just 12 hours at the Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, before he was "immediately terminated" after the company said it learned of his prior criminal record.
"An employee of Cherry Hill Photo who does the local hiring of the Mall Easter Bunny staff violated strict company guidelines and permitted a person to portray the Easter Bunny at the mall without first sending in the appropriate information to the corporate office for approval," the company said in a statement to PEOPLE.
The company said no inappropriate behavior was reported during Jacobs' time on the job and that the local manager in charge of hiring was suspended pending the completion of an internal investigation.
Jacobs, born in 1991, was first registered as a sexually violent predator under Pennsylvania's Megan's Law in July 2013, according to state records. His primary offense is listed as "unlawful contact or communication with a minor."
He has a tattoo of the word "pain" in all caps on his left arm and another tattoo of a pentagram on his left wrist, according to state records.
Jacobs was twice convicted in the sexual assault of a minor – in one case, having sex with a 15-year-old girl according to court documents obtained by Channel 11 News in a Friday report.
"It's unbelievable something like this could slip by. You think the company would be a little bit more thorough in their work," one parent told the station.
