Pearson school nurse arrested by Feds

WINSTED — A Pearson Middle School nurse working under an alias was arrested Friday, Feb. 24, by federal agents who said she has committed crimes ranging from fraud and identity theft to armed robbery.Members of the Winsted Police Department and the federal Bureau of Diplomatic Security visited Pearson Middle School to arrest Jacqueline Brown, who had been working under the alias Ann Scott.According to Superintendent of Schools Thomas Danehy, Brown had been working at Pearson Middle School since November as a per diem nurse and was working directly with two students in a program.Danehy would not specify which program she was working in.Danehy said she was hired by the district through Advanced Staffing Services in Plainville.Brown has been charged with passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, lying in an official federal document and false claims of United States citizenship.Over the past 10 years, Brown has been charged with a number of crimes, including fraud, possession of stolen property, passport fraud and armed robbery.She has been a fugitive from a diplomatic security for two years.Brown is currently being held at a federal prison in Manhattan and is awaiting deportation to her home country, Jamaica.Danehy said in the parking lot the arrest took place early before school started.Police Chief Robert Scannell said that, while the Winsted Police Department assisted with the arrest, the case was entirely handled by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.“It was completely their case, it was not a collaborative effort,” Scannell said. “Contacts from the department were made to me in complete confidence ahead of time. There was an issue regarding this person being able to escape the department’s clutches in the past. She was basically a master of eluding the department, using fake IDs and being able to relocate at the drop of a hat. In the past, she has been tipped off by people she confided in, so secrecy was of the utmost importance.”Neither Danehy or Scannell could say where Brown lived or in which town she claimed residence.Superintendent Danehy said he has heard criticism from parents over Brown’s hiring and that he too is upset.“In our school district, we have hiring guidelines, and I will extend those guidelines to any staffing agency that we work with in the future,” Danehy said. “We will be doublechecking any future hirings and running background checks on any employee hired from a staffing agency.”When asked if the school district would use Advanced Staffing Services in the future, Superintendent Danehy said they will not.“If parents feel concerned about this, I ask them to give me a call at the school district’s office,” Danehy said.