Scanland
LIMA — Cynthia Scanland, the former executive director of the Allen County Children Services agency charged with tampering with evidence and obstructing official business, made a rare appearance in Allen County Common Pleas Court on Monday.
Scanland did not actually enter the courtroom, however, as her attorney, David Thomas, and special prosecutor Gwen Howe-Gebers met behind closed doors. Earlier pre-trial hearings had been held via telephone or Zoom hook-ups but presiding Judge Reeve Kelsey, sitting by assignment of the Ohio Supreme Court, reportedly had required Scanland to appear in person for Monday’s hearing.
Howe-Gebers, through a court employee, said she would have no comment on the hearing, adding “we’re going to trial” on Oct. 17.
Scanland, 54, of Arlington, was indicted by a grand jury in September of 2020 on three counts of tampering with records, felonies of the third degree; a fifth-degree felony charge of obstructing official business and a misdemeanor count of dereliction of duty.
The charges against Scanland are linked to the cases of Jeremy Kindle and Scott Steffes — former foster parents who had obtained their children through the Children Services agency and who were subsequently convicted of sexually molesting the children.
Steffes and Kindle are currently serving prison terms of 47 and 94 years, respectively, for dozens of sex-related offenses involving foster children and other minors.
Scanland was fired by the Allen County Children Services board of directors on Aug. 21, 2020, after being placed on administrative leave in June after the alleged violations were discovered. The board voted to immediately terminate the former director’s employment. Scanland signed an agreement that provided her with three and one-half months’ severance pay.
She was paid an annual salary of $113,063 in 2019.
The state alleges that on three separate occasions between Jan. 1, 2017 and Nov. 30, 2019 the former director did “with the purpose to defraud or knowing she was facilitating a fraud on Allen County Job & Family Services, falsify, destroy, remove, conceal, alter, deface or mutilate any writing, computer software, data or record, to wit: Records kept concerning the training hours of Kindle and/or Steffes and the writing, data, computer software or record was kept by or belonged to a local, state or federal governmental entity.”
The state also maintains that Scanland “altered status documentation concerning intake and the writing, data, computer software or record was kept by or belonged to a local, state or federal governmental entity” and concealed a report or record kept by the governmental entity.
The obstruction of official business charge alleges the former director prevented or obstructed the performance of a public official in the performance of the public official’s lawful duties and created a risk of physical harm to the children of Kindle and/or Steffes.
The dereliction charge alleges that Scanland did “recklessly fail to perform a duty expressly imposed by law with respect to the public servant’s office.”
