Sex for Kids

November 8, 2011 permalink

Indiana social worker Scott Ogden told a mother she could see her children in exchange for sex. He doesn't look like a lowly caseworker, his title is manager and supervisor. Ogden further groomed the same client with drugs and a picture of his genitalia. Before hiring him five years ago Indiana DCS already knew of a conviction for a drug offense. Among Ogden's other cases he was responsible for twelve-year-old Devin Parsons, beaten to death in June.

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DCS Director "angry" over worker's alleged mishaps

Scott Ogden, 28, is accused of trading favors involving children for sex

Scott Ogden

By Aishah Hasnie, 10:04 p.m. EST, November 7, 2011

Indianapolis

The Director of Indiana's Department of Child Services told Fox59, Monday, he felt "violated" and "angry" in the wake of serious criminal charges filed against a former employee.

Judge James Payne fired Scott Ogden from his position as case manager and supervisor.

Ogden, 28, was arrested Thursday for allegedly giving a client drugs, sending her a picture of his genitalia and promising her a meeting with her four children she no longer had custody of if she had sex with him.

He faces charges of official misconduct, dealing of a controlled substance, possession of and receiving property and distribution of obscene material.

"I still cannot put myself in a position where I understand why someone would do this?" said Payne. "I feel violated. I feel angry."

Payne said he is now bracing for the possibility that this was not an isolated incident.

"My fear is that this is a pattern of behavior that occurred over a period of time."

That's why DCS will comb through hundreds of cases Ogden either directly worked on or supervised in the past two to three years of his five year employment with the department. That will include the Devin Parsons case, the tragic tale of a boy who Decatur County authorities said was beaten to death by his mother.

"We will send a team down there, somewhere between two and four people to start looking at cases, talking to people, finding out if there are any other case incidences that may cause us to question the outcome and the safety of children," explained Payne.

Last week, Fox59 pulled up Ogden's personnel file and found the DCS knew about a past drug charge before hiring him at the age of 23. There were also two references from within the department who questioned Ogden's experience.

Fox59 wanted to know if Ogden should have been hired at all?

"In hindsight, the answer is no," answered Payne. "There were things in his background that we questioned, we analyzed, and we still made our best decision."

He said Ogden was hired because the drug incident happened when he was 18 and Ogden had proved he made changes in his life, interning with the DCS and graduating with a degree in psychology.

Payne knows the public's trust in the department has been damaged, but hopes Hoosiers will understand that one employee's actions do not reflect some 1,500 other DCS case managers working across the state.

"The fact that one among us that dishonored that trust, should not reflect adversely on again the hundreds of people who dedicate their lives to making sure that children are safe."

Source: WXIN-TV Fox59