Woman fired for removing files

By Kathleen Pointer

Published Nov. 6, 2007

The Boone County Sheriff's Department fired an employee after she removed two files from the offices containing the names of juveniles, Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey said.

Officials from the department said they realized documents were missing when the employee's child took the two files from the employee's home to Hallsville High School on Oct. 26. Although the files did not contain the name of the employee's child, there were names of other students in the files.

"Our school resource officer at Hallsville High School came across the reports and notified us immediately," Carey said. "We began an investigation, and the employee was fired in an hour and a half."

Carey said he believed the files were taken for personal reasons.

"She was a civilian employee, and I believe she had some concerns about who her child was hanging out with," Carey said. "And she wanted to make a point as a parent that her child was perhaps not choosing the best of friends to hang out with."

The employee would not have had difficulty obtaining the files since all department employees have access to files via their computer. All she had to do was look them up in the system, Carey said. He is unsure when she removed the files from the office.

Carey said the immediate removal of the employee and the swift manner in which it was handled was related to the fact that the names on the list were the names of juveniles. As a result, the department spent time contacting parents after the incident took place.

"We obtained names and phone numbers, and contacted all the parents," Carey said. "We apologized, and said we had handled the matter and that the employee had been fired. Parents appreciated how we handled it and appreciated our apology."

Carey said the termination of the employee was the end of the case and that no legal action has been taken against the woman.

The Hallsville School District declined to comment on the incident.