“It’s really a huge misunderstanding,” is how a Lehigh Valley man selling life insurance describes the last few days of his life.
Visits to the local homes of people who requested free Child Safe Kits, which includes child fingerprinting, had morphed into a series of concerned Facebook posts, calls to police, a warning from Northampton County to local parents, and death threats against the man.
Homeowners say the visits left them worried, claiming they didn’t know why the man was there, he didn’t identify himself and, in at least one instance, he claimed to be with Children and Youth.
In an interview with lehighvalleylive.com, the man “vehemently” denies identifying himself as a county employee or that he was with a Children and Youth division.
“It’s completely false,” he said.
The man’s name and photo was shared on Facebook, with comments calling him a predator and a pervert. He got death threats and had to call Pennsylvania State Police.
At least two people told lehighvalleylive.com that they reached out to local police after the visits. Messages to Northampton Borough and Whitehall Township police, which the people said took the reports, were not immediately returned.
On Wednesday, Northampton County said it received reports of a person looking to fingerprint kids and claiming they were with the Children, Youth and Family division, but that the person was not a county employee.
The man said people have to request the kits, either through a shared link or via a website, and as part of the process they agree to have an American Income Life Insurance representative contact them. American Income Life Insurance confirmed the man is one of their agents.
The website says “By entering and submitting your information, you give consent for a licensed insurance agent to contact you to arrange a convenient time to deliver our Child Safe Kit®(s) and explain additional insurance coverage available.”
The agency attempts to get in contact via phone, but if they are unable to reach a person, an agent goes out to the house, the man said.
One woman said she did not request a kit, that the man came to her door and did not respond when she spoke to him through her Ring camera. He did not identify who he was, and was not wearing anything that would identify him, so she called Whitehall Township police.
The man realized something was wrong Monday afternoon, when a friend in Northampton Borough sent him a screenshot of a Facebook post made on Sunday.
In the post, which has since been removed, was a photo of the man from a home surveillance system. He remembers speaking to the homeowner on Wednesday through the camera system.
From there, things have spiraled out of control, and a lot of misinformation has been spread, he said.
There was false information in the post, the man said, but this one did not identify the man by name. He and his managers worked to report the Facebook post. The man said he has gone through Whitehall Township police to have another Facebook post removed.
“The person deleted it on the condition that I do not contact her again,” he said.
Another post listed his name, and showed his personal Facebook page and his work page. The man said he deleted the Facebook pages because of “the harassment that I was receiving.”
“The fact that I’m being accused that such thing, it’s distressing. It’s put my life at risk,” he said, adding, “I’m kind of scared to leave my home … scared to be in my own home.”
During this time, a person reached out to another police department in Northampton County to confirm his identity. An officer contacted the man, who verified his job and why he went to the home, and “that was the end of it,” he said. “I appreciate someone taking the correct approach and not widely posting on Facebook.”
The man said he lost money over this and changed the region he covers because of the claims. He said he respects that people felt there was something amiss and they wanted to bring it to people’s attention, but he is now terrified for his wife and himself.
“All I want to do is live my life normally and go back to living my life normally, and clearing my name of the horrendous accusations against me,” he said, adding his reputation “has completely gone out the window with this.”
“Accusations like this, they just don’t go away,” he said.
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Sarah Cassi may be reached at sc****@le**************.com.
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