A Pasco County Sheriff's Office Child Protective Investigator was arrested Wednesday, accused of falsifying state records.
Sheriff Chris Nocco said Christine McRobbie lied about a case because she wanted it closed. Not only is that illegal, but it also put the very children she was hired to protect at risk.
The investigation began when two parents under investigation for child abuse claimed they were not contacted by McRobbie.
When the Hillsborough County Child Protective Investigation Unit began a new investigation, McRobbie referred to a previous report she filed in Pasco County, but the parents said they were not aware of the investigation.
The report says McRobbie talked with the couple on two different occasions and administered drug tests. Investigators said the pregnant mother ended up in a Hillsborough County hospital and tested positive for hydrocodone.
"She [McRobbie] was aware that she was still pregnant and still taking the hydrocodone knowing that she was doing harm to the child," said Detective William Wood with the Pasco Sheriff's Office.
That's when Hillsborough's Child Protective Investigators were called in and followed up with Pasco.
"The father that was under this investigation stated to the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office that during that time period he was using drugs so that would have changed this investigation," said Nocco.
The couple said they never met McRobbie and did not take part in the tests.
McRobbie told investigators that when she entered her notes into the DCF database she could not locate the necessary paperwork to prove the test was completed. She then said she entered falsified notes, that she had administered the test and the results of the test were negative for any illegal substances, despite not knowing what the true results were, deputies said.
"That's absolutely unacceptable," said Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco.
"That baby was born addicted to drugs as well," said Det. Wood.
DCF and CPIs across the state are under-staffed. Pasco currently has 37 investigators with 10 in training and now three open positions.
"That never gives anybody the excuse to lie, falsify reports, or to handle something quickly because you have a young child that you are responsible for," said Nocco.
Sheriff Nocco said that the State Attorney's Office has been notified and is currently reviewing all of McRobbie's former criminal cases because "he doesn't know if anything she said can be trusted."
The family is now in Hillsborough County and now falls under Hillsborough's jurisdiction. Right now, investigators said they still have custody of their kids.
McRobbie has been charged with one count of falsifying records and booked into the Land O' Lakes Detention Center on $5,000 bond. She was also fired today from her job with the sheriff's office.
