Error left man off sex offender list

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - A clerk's mistake kept a former teacher off the sex offender list for more than two months, according to Portsmouth court officials.

Marc Allmond taught at I.C. Norcom High School until he was sentenced for having inappropriate relations with a student. In March, a judge ordered Allmond to house arrest and to register as a sex offender, but a clerk failed to file official paperwork.

Portsmouth Clerk of Court Cynthia Morrison told WAVY.com she takes responsibility for the paperwork mishap in Allmond's case.

"We accept accountability and responsibility for it because it is our job," Morrison said. "We are accountable for knowing what we are supposed to do."

Morrison says this not only happened with Allmond's paperwork, but also with Cedric Cradle's file. Cradle is a former Portsmouth teacher who was sentenced in April for sex crimes against a student.

"My staff has a lot that they have to remember," Morrison said. 

Morrison told WAVY.com every July new laws change procedures, and in 2012, those documents were more than 70 pages long.

Morrison said the regular court reporter was off and a substitute missed the form in Allmond's case. In Cradle's case, a less experienced worker made the same mistake. Neither was reprimanded, but all clerks went through a refresher course.

Morrison also changed procedure regarding sexual offenders' files.

"This should not slip through the cracks," Morrison said. "We are very regretful of the fact that this situation occurred."

Morrison's new system of placing red markers on sex offender paperwork will only work for six months, as the office is going paperless when they move to a new court complex in January 2013.