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kerstinr5 · Sep 16, 2015, 12:57 PM

Hi,
I have been arrested in Texas 2010 for a charge of child abandonment ( left my 2 older kids in the car with windows open on summer morning for less than 10 minutes- they were unharmed). The charge was lowered to child left in a vehicle a class c misdemeanor. I got deferred adjudication and unsupervised probation.

The case was expunged in Dec. of 2013. I came back from a trip to Europe and Immigration saw the arrest because of my fingerprints.

I just applied for a job at a daycare and have to take fingerprints. Is the arrest going to show up for a private employer?

If it comes back showing the arrest despite the expunction through the court, what can I do to have it permanently erased?

Although, what can I do to not have trouble with immigration every time I go to Europe and come back?

Thank you so much for your help.

smoothy · Sep 16, 2015, 01:30 PM

Depends one exactly what sort of background check the employer runs. Expungement doesn't mean every trace is gone.. it only means it doesn't show up in superficial checks but the courts and Government will ALWAYS see it. Your fingerprints will ALWAYS be in the system. As will everyone else's that has ever had them taken for any reason, even for employment.

I've never even been arrested and you can be certain every police department, court and every Federal agency has access to my fingerprints in the national database. And thanks to Snowden and hackers...probably half the countries on the Planet.

Fr_Chuck · Sep 16, 2015, 10:59 PM

First please understand you are confusing "fingerprints" with criminal record history. They, in America are related, but are really two different things.

A fingerprint, merely proves identity. When a fingerprint check is done, it will be checked to see if your finger prints match any previous fingerprint, and if any other names were used. (To prove identity)

Then that identity is checked against various criminal data bases.

A criminal record is not ever really expunged. The record is merely changed to show the legal outcome and that it was expunged.

It will always be seen by Federal and State police and any National Security background check. It will show the outcome.

There are also data bases for child and elder abuse that are separate from other Criminal Justice Data. In the criminal justice data, there is a FBI data base and also a National Security Data base. (and perhaps more now)