Child abuser wants to work with kids

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2003 | 11:13 a.m.

A Las Vegas man who authorities say has a history of abusing children wants to be an ice cream man.

Michael Hays, 42, whose criminal record includes rape, abuse and neglect, kidnapping and holding his former wife and daughter at gunpoint, worked as an ice cream man last year with the permission of then-District Judge Jeffrey Sobel, even though Nevada law prohibits such offenders from holding jobs that put them in contact with children.

"(Sobel) said he wasn't going to penalize someone who was trying to make a living," said Michael Compton, operations supervisor for the local sex offender unit of the Nevada Division of Parole and Probation, whose officers argued against Hays' job choice.

Hays eventually lost his job, not because of his background, but because he did not have a work card. Now he is trying to get his job back.

Last month he appealed the rejection of his work card application to the Las Vegas City Council, Metro Police Detective Stacy Rodd said. A hearing is scheduled for March 5.

Calling this one of the more blatant instances of an offender trying to skirt the system, Compton said: "Sex offenders are a different breed from other offenders and are often very manipulative." If not checked, he added, "they do tend to go back to their old ways."

Neither Hays nor his attorney, Patricia Erickson, could be reached for comment.

Hays' trouble with the law dates to May 1987, when he was convicted in Pacific County, Wash., of rape, kidnapping and assault.

According to news reports, Hays held his 3-year-old daughter and his estranged, pregnant wife, Melody, at gunpoint in a camper for more than 18 hours. During that time, a Pacific County prosecutor said, Hays also raped his wife.

Hays was upset because his visitation rights were cut, according to reports. When he saw Melody walking down the street with their daughter and her boyfriend, he fired two shots at the boyfriend and forced Melody and the girl into a pickup truck.

After a two-hour search, police spotted the truck and camper in a trailer park. Hays, Melody and their daughter were in the camper. Police surrounded the camper and were held at bay by Hays, who was armed, for 18 1/2 hours.

Hays told reporters at the time that what he did to his wife and daughter wasn't a crime, calling it "an emotional and adrenaline rush." He also said he didn't regret what happened because, he would do anything for his kids, according to news reports.

After serving four years in prison, Hays was released to Nevada, where he remarried and had another daughter.

He was arrested in June 1997 on charges of molesting one of his daughters. He was charged with sexually assaulting a victim under age 16, a felony.

However, in December 1998, he pleaded guilty to a lesser offense, child abuse and neglect with substantial mental injury. He was given a suspended sentence of three years in prison and was placed on probation for five years.

Even though he wasn't convicted of a sex offense, he was ordered to abide by the same conditions as a sex offender.

For example, he isn't permitted to have contact with a child under age 18 unless another adult who has never been convicted of a sex offense is present; and he isn't permitted to be in or near a playground, movie theater or business that primarily has children as customers. He also isn't allowed to accept a job without approval from his probation officer.

In July 2002 Hays told his probation officer he found a job working as an ice cream distributor.

"He said he would be an independent contractor selling ice cream to big stores," Compton said.

But Hays was actually driving an ice cream truck through neighborhoods, selling ice cream treats to children.

A Metro officer pulled over Hays' truck in August 2002 and found he did not have a required work card and wasn't registered as a sexual offender. He was given a citation and his probation officer was notified.

Work cards are required for ice cream truck drivers because "they're mobile, in and out of neighborhoods. It's to protect the general public, and we'd rather err on the side of caution," Rodd said.

According to Compton, Hays claimed he was not in violation of the conditions of his probation because his wife was with him when he did the ice cream route. But probation officers followed Hays and found him doing the route alone.

His probation officer tried to revoke his probation, meaning Hays would be required to serve his original three-year prison term. The revocation report said Hays didn't have a work card, he hadn't paid court fees and held a job that had children as primary customers, Compton said.

But Sobel ruled in favor of Hays, which amazed Compton, he said. However, when authorities learned Hays' employer permitted him to work without holding a work card, Hays lost his job.

"The owner of the ice cream business said he'd hire him again even after he found out about this," Compton said. He declined to release the name of the business.

Hays, who told his probation officer he can't find a job doing anything else, is trying to get his job back.

He applied to Metro for a work card in December, but was rejected after officers did a background check. On Jan. 6 Hays sent a letter to the city clerk's office saying he wanted to appeal Metro's denial of his work card application.

The City Council is expected to make a ruling at the March 5 hearing.

However, Compton said he will make sure Hays does not work as an ice cream man again. If he is granted a work card and gets back behind the wheel of his truck, Compton said: "We'll arrest him again."