No criminal charges filed after hundreds of Madera child abuse reports were discarded
Madera County prosecutors won’t file criminal charges against a former social worker accused of intentionally discarding hundreds of child abuse reports.
District Attorney Sally Moreno on Thursday told The Bee prosecutors could not “prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt” in the investigation into Sierra Lindman, the ex-Madera County social worker at the center of the controversy.
The Madera County Sheriff’s Office in August had recommended Lindman face a misdemeanor for destroying or concealing evidence.
“After an extensive and detailed investigation regarding all of the provable facts, it is clear that we are unable to prove any crime unanimously to 12 Madera jurors beyond (a) reasonable doubt,” Moreno said.
Lindman didn’t respond to requests for comment on Thursday, and neither did officials at the Madera County Department of Social Services.
Lindman resigned from her job, just days after she was placed on leave and escorted from the building on Nov. 7, 2019, after the discarded reports were discovered.
The allegations emerged publicly after a Fresno Bee investigation uncovered dozens of internal government emails that revealed at least 357 child abuse and neglect reports might have been abandoned for up to two months in the fall of 2019.
In one email, Deborah Martinez, director of the Madera County Department of Social Services, wrote that the social worker’s action had “placed children in danger.” In one of the emails, Martinez said Lindman’s alleged actions “likely caused incredible pain and suffering.”
The crisis unfolded in the fall of 2019 when hundreds of abandoned reports were found inside recycling bins and around Lindman’s desk, with workers scrambling to investigate the months-old reports. Law enforcement documents showed investigators believed Lindman had also allegedly discarded police reports that came into the child welfare agency.
While there was no known evidence that any child died in connection with the reports in question, two department sources told The Bee some of the cases led to some children being removed from their homes.
Lindman began to work for the department in November 2013 as an “Extra Help Eligibility Worker.” She was hired as a full-time employee in April 2014.
Agency officials have refused to say what policies or changes have been implemented to prevent a similar situation in the future. According to a May email, the department was trying to implement a new phone system to record all hotline calls.
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
.jpg)