Adams pleads not guilty in case

BENTONVILLE -- A former employee of the Arkansas State Police pleaded not guilty to a felony charge she tampered with reports in child abuse cases.

Whitney Adams, 49, of Lavaca is charged with tampering with a public record, a Class D felony punishable with up to six years in prison. Ernie Whitt, her attorney, entered the not guilty plea through paperwork.

She was arrested Oct. 27.

Adams was a civilian investigator with the agency's Crimes Against Children Division. She is accused of fabricating reports in 43 cases in Benton and Washington counties, according to court documents.

She was hired Sept. 29, 2014, by the State Police to investigate allegations of child maltreatment received on the state's Child Abuse Hotline, according to State Police spokesman Bill Sadler. A supervisor for Crimes Against Children doing a random audit in January questioned the integrity of investigative reports prepared by Adams, according to Sadler.

Adams was questioned by the commander of the Crimes Against Children Division and the department's Office of Professional Standards on Jan. 13. She was placed on administrative leave that day.

Adams submitted her resignation a day later, according to Sadler.

The State Police reviewed the 149 cases assigned to Adams to confirm the safety of the children who had been the subjects of the cases assigned to her, he said.

Adams was assigned a case June 21, 2015, involving a child burned on a stove in his home, according to a probable cause affidavit. Adams documented she had a "face-to-face" interview with the child but admitted later to a State Police investigator she didn't interview the child as stated in the original report, according to court document. A police report stated a detective with the Benton County Sheriff's Office spoke to the child on a telephone, the affidavit said.

Adams was assigned a case Oct. 9, 2015, involving a 5-year-old boy who reportedly had been sexually assaulted when he was 3, according to the affidavit. Adams reported she met with the boy and his father in their home, according to court documents. She told the investigator she didn't do any interviews with the victim, witnesses or suspects and she didn't do a "face-to face-interview," the affidavit said.

Adams was released from custody on citation after her arrest.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 25.

NW News on 12/06/2016

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