Misspelling keeps youth director off sex registry

Oct. 19--Phillip W. Lanier's name is online in countless places for his work in children's music and drama.

He has his own website, a Twitter feed, Pinterest account, Facebook page and a site for the Christian children's theater company he operates with a business partner in Stafford County.

But where Lanier's name couldn't be found online until Saturday--though it was ordered to appear there nearly six months ago after his convictions for molesting two girls--is on Virginia's Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry.

And that left Stafford Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Andrea Stewart exasperated when it was brought to her attention.

"It's very disturbing," Stewart said when informed by The Free Lance-Star of the registry problem.

"That was my goal--to get him on the registry," she said.

Stewart also was dismayed that a children's theater program and two youth handbell groups affiliated with Frick and Frack Music, which Lanier co-owns with Stafford resident Neesa Hart, appear in the current issue of the Stafford County Parks and Recreation activities brochure.

Lanier, 47, of Joshua Road was arrested by the Stafford Sheriff's Office on Oct. 4, 2013, and charged with two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child by a person in a custodial or supervisory role.

He was accused of sexually molesting two girls over a three-year period while overseeing them as part of a performing arts group that did drama and music productions locally and along the East Coast, Stewart said.

Frick and Frack Music's website and a sign at its rehearsal location in southern Stafford list performing groups including: the Young Adult Children's Theatre for Stafford, Children's Musical Theater of Stafford and the Stafford Regional Handbell Society, which is for children and adults.

Lanier is listed as the composer and arranger for Frick and Frack Music, while Hart, also 47, is listed as lyricist and scriptwriter.

The county Parks and Recreation brochure lists YACTS and school-age handbell ringing teams among its "instructional classes" starting in September. It calls YACTS a faith-based program and invites children in grades six through 12 to take part in "Shrek The Musical," stating that every child is cast.

Its Facebook page states: "YACTS is a ministry of Stafford-based Frick and Frack Music producing affordable family theatre from classic children's literature."

LANIER'S CONVICTION

In April, Lanier entered an Alford plea in Stafford Circuit Court to the two felony charges as part of a plea agreement. An Alford plea means he does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is sufficient evidence for a conviction.

Judge J. Martin Bass gave Lanier the maximum sentence of five years in prison on each charge, but suspended all but three months for each count, leaving him six months to serve.

Lanier served his time at the Rappahannock Regional Jail and was released on Sept. 17, Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor said.

According to Bass' order, Lanier's release requires him to have no contact with anyone under age 18 for 10 years except for incidental contact such as walking to his mailbox or passing at a grocery store. It also requires him to be of good behavior for 10 years, to submit a sample of his DNA to the state and to register as a sex offender.

If he violates any of the conditions, he could be jailed again to serve some or all of the suspended sentence.

REGISTRY LISTING ERROR

Stafford court records show Lanier's last name spelled as "Lanear" as his case moved through Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and then into Circuit Court.

Stewart said she wasn't certain how the error occurred, but when a case enters the court system incorrectly, it continues that way electronically until it is fixed.

In Lanier's case, it wasn't until one month after his April conviction and sentencing that the spelling was officially corrected. But by then, state police had already entered his name, convictions and photo on the state sex offender registry as "Phillip Wayne Lanear."

On May 29, Judge Bass signed an amended conviction and sentencing order as a result of a motion by Stewart to correct the spelling of Lanier's last name, a motion granted without objection from Lanier's attorney, Mark Murphy.

After learning of the registry problem on Oct. 6, Stewart said the Circuit Court clerk's office is responsible for such issues, but that she would contact state police immediately to begin the process of getting it addressed. When the spelling was fixed, she said the misspelled last name would be included on the registry in the space for aliases.

That correction took effect between Friday evening and Saturday. Until then, anyone doing a name search in the registry for "Lanier" did not find him.

As of Saturday, searches for both "Lanier" and "Lanear" produced the listing for Lanier.

In a brief phone interview Thursday, Lanier denied there was a problem.

"I'm aware that I'm required to register and I have registered and I checked the registry yesterday and it's there," he said. "According to the state trooper I registered with, it's registered properly."

Stewart had said she expected the registry listing to be corrected within a week.

"It is essential that we identify him by the proper name so that people know who he is and know where to find him," she said.

PARKS AND REC LISTING

The Stafford County Parks and Recreation Department terminated its relationship with Frick and Frack Music and all of its related entities on Friday, Stafford County spokeswoman Cathy Vollbrecht said during an interview that included Deputy County Administrator Tim Baroody and Parks and Recreation Director Jamie Porter.

The county has also launched an internal investigation to determine how the information for YACTS got into the activities brochure, why a required annual background check was not completed prior to publication and why it did not have a contract on file for the YACTS program.

The Parks and Recreation Department initiated its own investigation on Monday after The Free Lance-Star contacted Porter to ask about YACTS.

The department's background check for every contractor includes a criminal history check and a review of the sex offender registry. It states that "under no circumstances shall a contract instructor be considered if that person was/is convicted of a crime that involved children, violence and/or sex."

Department policy also requires any employee or contractor to report "all instances of suspected child abuse or neglect."

The certificate of liability insurance Hart provided the county was through Frick and Frack LLC, listed at Lanier's Joshua Road address, according to an internal memo provided by the county.

Last fall, the county terminated its offerings through Frick and Frack following Lanier's arrest. It had offered classes under "Frick and Frack Musical Theater" for about three years, Porter said.

Frick and Frack Music has been operating in Stafford since January 2006.

The YACTS and children's handbell offerings were removed from the county's online listings Friday.

In addition, Porter said it was determined that one child had registered for YACTS through Parks and Rec so that family was being notified via email on Friday that the county was no longer associated with the organization.

Vollbrecht and Baroody asked that anyone who has concerns about any of the county's programs or people involved with them to contact them.

"The county takes the safety of our kids extremely seriously," Vollbrecht said.

WHAT'S ALLOWED

According to information listed on the state registry for--until Saturday--Phillip Wayne "Lanear," Lanier is working from his home, not at Frick and Frack Music's studio and rehearsal site at 1120 International Parkway, Suite 111.

Weekly rehearsals for YACTS' production of "Shrek" were scheduled to begin there on Sept. 9 and continue for nine weeks.

Lanier was released from jail eight days after the first scheduled rehearsal.

If he works only with adults and steers clear of children, there is no problem, prosecutor Stewart said.

"He's not prohibited from owning a business. He is prohibited from having direct contact with minors," she said.

Hart said in a phone interview on Thursday that the operations of Frick and Frack Music have been clearly delineated since her business partner's arrest a year ago. She called herself the primary owner, saying she holds a 51 percent interest in the company and said classes are now her sole purview.

"I am, since October of last year, the only instructor," she said. "You're asking if he is involved in teaching classes or any of the instruction we do and the answer is no."

Hart said that in the past, Lanier helped her drama productions "with sound and lighting," but that is no longer the case.

She then said he works from home now.

"He writes music and produces music and provides resources. He still is the arranger for Frick and Frack," she said. "For YACTS, he provides rehearsal resources but he's not present."

Lanier's defense attorney Mark Murphy said it was his impression that Lanier was abiding by the court's post-release instructions.

"From what I understand, he's in compliance with the court order with regard to his employment," Murphy said. "I don't have the details of the day-to-day operations."

Still, Stewart is skeptical Lanier can maintain the separation in operations mandated by the court.

The prosecutor appealed the bond conditions under which he was released before his trial because she saw photos of him working with children as part of a performance "organized, orchestrated and sponsored by Frick and Frack at Fredericksburg Baptist Church" on Dec. 19, according to her January motion.

She interpreted those actions as "skirting the bond order." The judge clarified that Lanier was not allowed to have contact with any children.

Stewart said she is concerned about the safety of other children and won't hesitate to act if she finds evidence that Lanier violates the conditions of his release by interacting with anyone under 18.

"He will be walking a very fine line," Stewart said.

Pamela Gould: 540/735-1972

pgould@freelancestar.com

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