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BOSTON -- A Chelmsford woman who hired Home Depot to reface her kitchen cabinets said that she was surprised when a convicted sex offender showed up to do the work.

NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported Wednesday that Niki Lebrecque considered her safety when she hired Home Depot to do the home improvements in her condominium.

"I had assumed because they're one of the biggest companies in the nation to do installations, that that would be the safest bet for me as a single female," Lebrecque said. "Unfortunately, I was clearly wrong."


Lebrecque felt uncomfortable about subcontractor Robert Clark the first day he arrived. She said he acted overly friendly, buying her breakfast some days while smelling like alcohol others. She thought Home Depot checked his background before sending him.

"I asked for a kitchen, and I never thought I was going to get a sex offender," Lebrecque said. "I would rather have ugly cabinets than fear every day."

Clark is a convicted sex offender who spent almost two years in jail for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old girl. Court records obtained by Team 5 Investigates reveal that he has "an extensive history of violent attacks."

Lebrecque got clues about Clark's past from his girlfriend, who showed up every day of the job. One afternoon, the woman took her to buy a new faucet for the kitchen. Lebrecque went for the drive to avoid being left alone with Clark.

"She was worried how dangerous he was, and her comment to me was, 'When I first met him, he told me he was in prison, and when I asked him why, he said that he was accused of raping someone. And he said to me he wouldn't do that. You know him, he wouldn't do that right?'" Lebrecque said.

Team 5 Investigates confirmed Clark's history as a sex offender through court documents. The investigation tipped off police in Nashua, N.H., who arrested the 53-year-old for failing to re-register as a sex offender when he moved from Lowell, Mass., to Nashua. Clark pleaded not guilty to the charge at his recent arraignment.

"At the time, we did not know the information. The application that was submitted had incorrect information on it," Home Depot's Vice President of Home Services Gary White told Team 5 Investigates when he traveled to Boston to do an interview. "The background check itself was not flawed."

Team 5 Investigates confronted Clark after a March 12 hearing in Nashua District Court. Clark said Home Depot never required him to fill out any documents that asked if he had ever been arrested. Clark said that he gave the company his Social Security number, and they checked his background from that.

Home Depot officials refused to show Team 5 Investigates the misinformation on Clark's application. White explained how a third-party contractor handles background checks.

Team 5's investigation has led to a nationwide policy change for the home improvement retail giant. Company officials said that they will rescreen all 38,000 installers nationwide, in addition to reinforcing the way background checks are done.

"Since this issue arose, we have been meeting with our service provider that does the background checks on a regular basis identifying how we can enhance the system," White said. "We are going to put in a process where on a periodic and systematic basis, we review and audit every contractor that is doing business with Home Depot."

Home Depot said that the changes are because of this individual case, which Team 5 Investigates brought to their attention. The retail giant assured Team 5 that it is an isolated case and that the vast majority of their customers are satisfied with the work performed by its installers.

In Lebrecque's case, Home Depot has refunded her money and offered to redo the work.

Clark is no longer working for Home Depot and is scheduled to be back in court in May on the charge of failing to register as a sex offender.