CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Halloween is supposed to be full of fright, but at two Spirit Halloween stores in the Charlotte area, employees say it was a coworker causing a scare.
“The first time I met him I was warned by other people that like we definitely should keep our distance and like I was warned by other girls my age so I knew that they were being serious about it,” said one teenager, who works at the Spirit Halloween store located at the Metropolitan in Charlotte.
She and another teen both spoke to WCNC Charlotte anonymously Friday, after WCNC started asking questions about a man named Matthew Bolick. The girls said he often made them and several other teen girls who work at the stores feel uncomfortable.
“They were just like, 'Stay away from him,'” they said.
Bolick has more than a dozen criminal charges on his record between 1985 and 2010, although the actual charges are not public.
His latest arrest came this September after the York County Sheriff’s Office conducted what they called a "major online predator sting." Bolick was among four other men arrested, all accused of committing crimes during online chats they thought were with underage girls, according to deputies.
“We’re Spirit Halloween, we’re a family store and a kid store,” the girls said, alleging Bolick was allowed to return to work.
“Like shocking that it's being allowed,” they said.
There is no North Carolina law that prevents a person from returning to work, after they’ve been arrested, and although he’s been charged, Bolick has not been convicted and therefore is not on the sex offender registry.
WCNC Charlotte also reached out to Spirit Halloween’s corporate office about their hiring policies but have not heard back. WCNC Charlotte began looking into the allegations after a Charlotte mom took to facebook to warn other families about Bolick and his possible presence at the Spirit Halloween store in Matthews, N.C.
The mom said her own teen daughter quit, after she says Bolick was allowed to return. Bolick is also an actor and DJ, who was once promoted for DJ’ing at South End’s Gin Mill bar.
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