Child molester gets prison time in Conn.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – A former employee of FedEx Corp. was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison for molesting two boys in a case that raised concerns over how companies conduct criminal background checks of employees, an attorney for one of the victims said.

Paul Sykes, who worked in a FedEx Kinko’s print shop in Fairfield, was sentenced in Bridgeport Superior Court after pleading guilty to risk of injury to a minor, fourth-degree sexual assault and possession of child pornography, according to Neal Rogan, the victim’s attorney.

“It certainly was an appropriate sentence,” Rogan said.

A telephone message was left with Sykes’ public defender.

Sykes has multiple convictions for molesting children dating back to 1988 in Maine, according to a lawsuit Rogan filed that is pending in federal court. The suit accuses FedEx of failing to properly conduct a criminal background check before hiring a sexual predator.

FedEx has said the company conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates and disputed allegations in the lawsuit. A check of Sykes, who has been fired, did not reveal a criminal history, company officials said.

Sykes solicited customers for a computer repair business he ran called “Facts and Fantasy,” according to the lawsuit. He molested an 8-year-old boy during a visit to repair a computer, authorities said.

Rogan said the incident raised troubling questions about a company with widespread contact with the public.

But the company has said it does thorough checks.