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TWO CHILD WELFARE WORKERS DISMISSED Agency's Handling of Abuse Allegations Made by 12-Year-Old Girl Later Killed Prompts Firing By Brad Cain, The Associated Press, Reported in Las Vegas Review-Journal, 12-06-02 SALEM, Ore. - Two child welfare agency were fired Thursday for the way in which the agency handled reports that a girl was being sexually abused by a man who now is charged with killing her and a friend. The two employees met with department officials on Tuesday to present their side of the story and received notices of dismissal Thursday. No other employees were facing disciplinary action in this case, said Sue Nelson, human services manager for the Oregon Department of Human Services. The agency received five calls in summer 2001 reported that Ashley Pond, 12, had accused neighbor Ward Weaver of sexually abusing her. Police didn't learn of her accusation until after she disappeared in January. The girl's body was found in August, buried beneath a concrete slab that Weaver had installed at his home. The body of her friend, 13-year-old Miranda Gaddis, was found in a shed on Weaver's property. Weaver has pleaded innocent to killing the two girls, who lived in an apartment complex down the road. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The dismissed employees were identified as Darlene Walsh, a supervisor who had worked for the department since 1990, and Colin Fitzpatrick, a caseworker since 1998. Nelson said both employees indicated they would appeal their dismissals. An internal review showed that after the first abuse report was received by the state, 11 working days passed before it was sent to the Clackamas County sheriff's office, which in turn said it never received the document. That violated a state law requiring immediate referral of such reports, officials said. Investigators also could find no documentation to show state officials made any attempt to follow up. According to court documents unsealed Thursday, a police search of a storage unit rented by Weaver yielded a microwave oven matching the box in which one of the bodies was found. WORKING TOGETHER TO ATTAIN FAIRNESS | |
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