Prison for convicted child molester who used fake name to get hired at famed Minnesota language camp

A convicted child molester who used an alias to get hired at a nationally recognized youth language immersion camp in Minnesota has received a nearly two-year prison term for failing to register as a sex offender.

Stephon R. Jones, 34, who was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, “was aware that he was required to register as a sex offender for life and complete verification every three months,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement announcing the sentence.

Instead, he used the identity of another man in order to pass a background check and get hired as a cook at Concordia Language Villages, an immersion camp near Bemidji, according to Jones’ guilty plea and other court filings.

Jones also hijacked the identity of a second man to land a job at a McDonald’s in Maple Grove, prosecutors alleged.

Jones’ 1¾-year prison term will be followed by eight years of supervision after release.

“We partner with an accredited third-party service for background checks,” said Nicole Ellis, director of marketing and enrollment for Concordia Language Villages, which has been in operation for 63 years. “In addition, all employees of Concordia Language Villages are run through the sex offender database.”

Ellis said Jones “made it through the background check process through the fraudulent use of other people’s names, Social Security numbers and fraudulent documents. While no gaps in the hiring process have been identified, we are actively reviewing the hiring process to determine if any additional steps can be taken.”

Concordia Language Villages’ programs are considered among the nation’s leading immersion curricula, with instruction offered to children and adults in at least 15 languages. The villages are run by Concordia College of Moorhead, Minn.

According to court documents:

In June 2009, Jones was convicted of molesting a child in LaPorte County, Ind. The conviction not only required Jones’ registration as a sex offender, but he also had to provide registration updates to law enforcement within three days of a change in where he lived, worked or attended school.

In 2022, Jones relocated to Minnesota without making the proper notification. In June of that year, law enforcement was tipped off that he was working at a McDonald’s under the pseudonym Kevin Brockwell.

The tipster told police that Jones was telling people he was “on the run” and then figured out that Jones was using a fake name and Social Security number of someone named Kevin Brockwell.

Once freed, Jones moved to Bemidji, assumed a new fake identity, Larry Claro, and was hired as a cook in summer 2023 at Concordia Language Villages.

On July 24, 2023, a Beltrami County sheriff’s deputy stopped Jones for speeding in Bemidji. Jones presented a falsified temporary driver’s license receipt with his photo and the name Larry David Claro. The deputy determined the document was not valid, gave Jones a ticket and sent him on his way.

The state Department of Public Safety inspected the receipt for the temporary license and determined it was not issued by the Department of Vehicle Services, agency spokesman Mark Karstedt said Thursday.