CPS employee charged with paying juveniles for sex

A parent’s worst fears might include the sexual molestation of their child by a trusted adult like a pastor, teacher or family member. Some Cedar Hill parents feel they are living a nightmare following the arrest of a neighbor, a Child Protective Services employee accused of juvenile sexual assault.

The accused 34-year-old CPS investigator allegedly paid two juvenile girls for sex. The alleged sexual relationships apparently were not associated with the suspect’s job-related activities.

An arrest warrant says police were tipped off after the Tarrant County arrest of a juvenile prostitute. The girl allegedly told authorities that she connected with the accused CPS investigator through a classified-ads website last August.

The girl reportedly told police that she and another underage female exchanged sex for money with the child welfare worker. The sexual relationships apparently continued until January of this year.

Police investigators followed a trail of text messages the CPS employee allegedly left on the young prostitute’s cell phone. The investigation also involved other elements police declined to disclose.

The compilation of information ultimately led to an arrest at the suspect’s home, where police confiscated computers for evidence.

Child sexual assault is a second-degree felony. Officials from Child Protective Services say they may not wait for a trial to fire the employee, if an internal investigation finds that police suspicions are true. CPS released a statement that said any employee’s betrayal “of the public’s trust” was grounds for dismissal.

The arrest of the child sexual abuse suspect caused CPS officials to immediately suspend the investigator from his job, where he had been working with children for six years. Parents in the neighborhood where the alleged child abuser was taken into custody were shocked by news of the arrest. Several neighbors were highly concerned that the suspect lived so close to areas where elementary-school age children waited for or departed from school buses in the dark.

Source: dfw.cbslocal.com, “Warrant: Cedar Hill CPS Agent Paid Teen For Sex,” Robbie Owens and Jay Gormley, March 7, 2012