Former child abuse investigator pleads not guilty

Former child abuse investigator pleads not guilty
Story
Discussion
MARCI LAEHR TENUTA mtenuta@journaltimes.com | Posted: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 10:45

Related Stories

COUNTY: INSTEAD OF INVESTIGATING CHILD ABUSE, WORKER FILED FALSE REPORTS
Fired investigator: withhold judgment until all facts available
Child abuse investigator charged with fabricating reports
RACINE - A former child abuse investigator for the Racine County Human Services Department who is accused of not looking into abuse complaints and filing false reports waived his preliminary hearing in court Wednesday.
Todd P. O'Brien, 37, of Franklin also entered a not guilty plea to the six counts against him of misconduct in office for making a fraudulent record or statement.
O'Brien was bound over for trial, however Racine County District Attorney Mike Nieskes said the state and defense are working toward a resolution. A plea agreement would avoid a trial.
A pretrial conference was scheduled for Aug. 13.
O'Brien was a veteran investigator with HSD when administrators there found evidence that he had filed a false report on a abuse case he had never investigated. In February, a woman being considered as a possible placement for a child who needed a place to live had a flag on her file from a previous abuse investigation.
HSD workers asked the woman about the previous investigation. She told them no one had ever spoken with her about anything like that.
However, O'Brien had filed a report in 2008 that said he spoke to he woman and the children in her home. He found the allegations unsubstantiated.
At that point, HSD officials began looking into other cases where O'Brien had determined there was no abuse. They found five other cases where he allegedly fabricated information on investigations he had never conducted.
O'Brien was charged last month. He is out of custody on a $5,000 signature bond.
Posted in Crime-and-courts on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 10:45 am Updated: 1:03 pm. | Tags: Racine County Human Services Department, Todd O'brien, Mike Nieskes, Child Abuse, Courtnews

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_3a91826e-8f5f-11df-9c2d-001cc4c03286.html