Man stole from teens in his care

Through his position at Boys Town, Larry W. Clang, was entrusted with caring for the young people who lived with him and his wife.

Clang apparently took advantage of that trust by taking thousands of dollars from some of those in his care.

The 31-year-old former Boys Town employee pleaded guilty last week to two counts of theft by unlawful taking.

He faces up to 20 years in prison on each charge, although under a plea agreement Clang has agreed to pay full restitution by his January sentencing date, said prosecutor Jen Meckna.

If Clang pays full restitution — more than $22,000 — he could get probation.

If not, he will probably serve time.

Paying the full amount could be a problem for Clang. His Boys Town wages have been garnisheed since at least 2004, court records show, to pay civil judgments against him totaling more than $20,000.

Calls to Clang and his attorney were not returned.

A Boys Town spokeswoman said that as soon as officials there heard of the theft, they started an internal investigation and Clang was fired.

The case also was referred to the Douglas County Attorney’s Office, and Boys Town officials encouraged prosecution, said spokeswoman Kara Neuverth.

According to Boys Town police, the matter first was reported in December 2008. Charges were filed in January.

Neuverth said Boys Town officials assisted the County Attorney’s Office in its investigation.

“The safety and well-being of our youth is our No. 1 priority. We go to extreme lengths to protect our children,” Neuverth said.

“Unfortunately when incidents like this occur, it mars the wonderful work our employees do for children,” she said.

About 70 couples work as family teachers at Boys Town. Most teachers are between the ages of 25 and 30. The starting salary for family teachers is about $24,000 a year per person. They also receive room and board while they work.

Prosecutor Meckna said the felony charges to which Clang pleaded guilty involved thefts from two young women, both of whom are 19 years old.

The majority of money taken belonged to those two. Clang had access to their bank cards and asked the women for their pin numbers, which they gave to Clang, according to Meckna.

Meckna said there were about 10 young women in all who had some money stolen.

It wasn’t immediately clear how long the thefts had been taking place or when they started.

The money taken from the 19-year-olds was money they had earned while working at outside jobs.

Neuverth said she couldn’t discuss the background checks done on Clang or the matter of his paychecks being garnisheed, describing those as personnel matters.

She did say that since the incident, Boys Town is using a different company to do background checks on prospective employees.

“We have systems in place to detect staff behavior that could harm a child,” Neuverth said. “When such behavior is suspected, we proceed quickly to protect our children. That process helped us take swift action against this man.”

The young women were reimbursed by Boys Town.

Contact the writer:

444-1279, jason.kuiper@owh.com