DENVER — Prosecutors on Friday charged a Denver Human Services caseworker with eight felonies amid allegations she made up phone calls and home visits in child abuse and neglect reports, 9NEWS Investigates has learned.
Christine Gray, 39, appeared in court and was released after posting a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.
She was charged with eight counts of attempting to influence a public official. She is due back in court on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
Godon Loui, a spokesman for Denver Human Services, said in a statement that the department has "zero tolerance for falsification of records" and that Gray is no longer employed there.
Court documents obtained by 9NEWS Investigates show that Denver police initially investigated an alleged sexual assault on a child, but that case was closed after prosecutors concluded they could not file charges because there was no likelihood they could obtain a conviction.
When a DHS supervisor asked for more investigation, the case was reopened.
An attorney working with the child’s family alleged that Gray’s reports about the case included “several false statements.” Specifically, the attorney alleged that Gray did not make a home visit — as she asserted in her report — while looking into the girl’s case.
As Denver police investigated, they learned that Gray’s work was already being scrutinized by DHS administrators, who found that reports in 11 of the 78 cases they reviewed contained “false or misleading documentation.”
A forensic analysis of Gray’s work and personal cell phones showed that neither was “at the locations as stated in Ms. Gray’s reports.” Neither phone was used to make calls she asserted that she had made to follow up on reports of abuse and neglect, according to the court documents.