Court filings: Arkansas child abuse investigator faked reports

Interviews questioned in 43 cases involving child safety

BENTONVILLE -- A civilian investigator with the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division is accused of fabricating reports in 43 cases in Benton and Washington counties, according to court documents.

Whitney Loren Adams, 49, was arrested Oct. 27 in connection with tampering with a public record, a Class D felony punishable with up to six years in prison. She was released from the Benton County jail on citation. Prosecutors have not filed a formal charge against Adams.

A review of child safety cases involved is underway, said State Police and local officials. It does not appear that any children were left in danger or removed from the home based on the suspect reports or that anyone was put in jail based on the reports, said Matt Durrett, Washington County prosecuting attorney.

Brian Sexton, deputy prosecutor in Benton County, said Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith and the deputy prosecutor directly overseeing the Adams case were not available for comment Monday because they were in another trial.

"I can't give any specifics because these are cases involving juveniles, but I can say that these were mainly dependency and neglect cases," Durrett said. "It appears no kids were left where they shouldn't have been. I don't know any criminal case in which she would have been a witness, either."

Most of the cases involved appear to have resulted in referrals to the state Department of Human Services for services instead of pursuit of a criminal case if action was taken, Durrett said. The Crimes Against Children Division operates the state's Child Abuse Hotline. Division investigators follow up when needed on calls. If criminal wrongdoing is suspected, local law enforcement agencies continue from there, he said.

The state Department of Human Services was informed when concerns about the reports arose, the agency confirmed Monday.

"We were alerted to this issue and did an internal review of the cases Adams was on," spokesman Brandi Hinkle said. "We found no indication of falsified reports or children being left in risk of harm."

Contact information such as telephone numbers for Adams were redacted from personnel information obtained Monday by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Attempts to reach Adams were unsuccessful.

Adams was hired Sept. 29, 2014, by the State Police to investigate allegations of child maltreatment received on the state's Child Abuse Hotline, Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said. A supervisor for Crimes Against Children conducting 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. Adams' handwritten letter gave her acceptance of another job in Fort Smith as her reason for leaving. She had worked at the state Department of Human Services since 1986 as a family services worker before being hired by the State Police, according to her file.

The State Police reviewed the 149 cases that had been assigned to Adams to confirm the safety of the children who had been the subjects of the cases assigned to her, Sadler 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 that she did not personally 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 had made telephone contact with the child, 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 did not do any interviews with the victim, witnesses or suspects and that she did not do a "face-to face-interview," the affidavit said.

According to the information uncovered so far, Durrett said, Adams omitted important steps such as interviews but did not appear to attempt to deliberately misrepresent events. Had she been involved in a serious case, other officers would have been involved, he said. Because of the role Adams played, as an initial investigator, most cases she saw would not have resulted in criminal charges and any serious crimes found would have been reported to law enforcement agencies.

The Crimes Against Children Division has one State Police member, who is the division commander and who holds the rank of major. The rest of the staff are civilians. The current commander is Ron Stayton, whose office is at State Police headquarters in Little Rock.

Natalie Tibbs, executive director of the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County, said she was glad to hear prosecutors, investigators and the state Department of Human Services were reviewing the cases involved. As far as she had heard, no harm to children had resulted, she said, although her center and the State Police division were not directly connected.

Adams' arraignment is scheduled for 8 a.m. Dec. 5 in Benton County Circuit Court.

State Desk on 11/08/2016

Upcoming Events