Sheriff: Child Protection Investigator Made Up Interviews

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — A child protection investigator is accused of fabricating interviews with the neighbors of families under investigation for child neglect and abuse. When confronted, she claimed she did it because she was overwhelmed with plans for her wedding.

Taylor Ashleigh Martin, 26, is facing three counts of falsifying records.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Martin, who was employed by the sheriff's office April 29, 2016, came under scrutiny when a supervisor responsible for reviewing and approving her reports noticed some suspicious entries related to interviews with neighbors in three cases. The supervisor said the interviews seemed generic and lacked details that Martin normally included.

When supervisors investigated, the neighbors told them they'd never been interviewed by Martin.

In one case, Martin reported that the neighbor had no concerns about the parents when, in fact, they had serious concerns about drug dealing at the home.

In another case, she reported that the neighbor said the mother's use of alcohol was not a problem. However, the neighbor told supervisors that she was worried that the mother was abusing alcohol and leaving the children unsupervised.

A follow-up investigation supervisors verified that none of the children involved in these investigations were harmed due to the misconduct. Nevertheless, Martin was confronted after returning from her honeymoon and admitted to falsifying records.

“She justified it that she was overwhelmed," Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. “I think we’re just very lucky, frankly, that there wasn’t something bad that happened. She very easily could have put kids in harm’s way.”

Martin was fired and arrested Friday.

This isn't the first time a child protection investigator with the sheriff's office has shirked duties.

In March 2018, child protection investigator Steven Urban, 29, of Largo was arrested for fabricating records for 75 of the 142 child welfare cases he was handling.

Pinellas is one of six counties in Florida in which the sheriff's office, rather than the Florida Department of Children and Families, handles child welfare investigations into allegations of abusing, neglecting, endangering and abandoning children.

Up until the Urban case, said Gualtieri, the system worked fine for more than 15 years. He said his office receives 11,000 child protection calls a year. The unit employs 140 people, 80 of which work on the streets as child welfare investigators.

Child protection investigators are not required to have experience although they must have a bachelor's degree. Once hired, they receive both class and field training and must complete the Florida Child Protective Investigation certification within 12 months of being hired, according to the DCF annual report.

See related story: Pinellas Child Welfare Investigator Arrested For Faking Reports