Busted! Cops Say Child Welfare Worker Falsified Child Abuse Reports

A man assigned by the state to investigate reports of child abuse and neglect regularly falsified reports in those cases, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, which arrested him on Thursday. Miguel Fuentes is charged with 15 counts of official misconduct and 15 counts of tampering with public records.

Since 2011, Fuentes has worked for the Oregon Department of Human Services where he was assigned to the Child Abuse Unit. He most recently worked out of the department's office.

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The sheriff's office says that last year, a sheriff's office detective and a DHS employee were working a child abuse investigation when they discovered inconsistencies in reports that Fuentes has filed.

That led to an investigation into his cases.

Officials discovered that Fuentes submitted reports: documenting in-person contacts and interviews that never occurred; containing false statements; containing work that was allegedly completed on days Mr. Fuentes was not in the office.

Detectives reviewed many of Mr. Fuentes' assigned cases and found at least 15 cases with falsified information, according to the sheriff's office.

DHS placed Fuentes on administrative leave in November, 2016, when they learned of the investigation.

DHS says they have reassigned all of Fuentes's cases to other workers to assure child safety.

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Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff's Office