COLUMBUS – A Columbus Division of Police detective is facing misdemeanor dereliction-of-duty charges after an internal investigation found that she mishandled evidence in two cases.
Amy Welsh, who had served in the division’s sexual assault division since 2011 was charged with three counts of dereliction of duty, each punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine, City Attorney Zach Klein said.
Welsh has been relieved of duty and could be fired, Klein said.
The division’s investigation determined that Welsh failed to properly request lab testing of a rape kit in a 2012 sexual battery case and, when a property room clerk discovered the rape kit and sent it to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations for testing, a DNA match was discovered.
Klein’s office says Welsh failed to act on the lab results despite being notified of the match in 2014 and again in 2015. A detective discovered one of the DNA match reports in paperwork from Welsh’s desk earlier this year.
The investigation also alleges that Welsh received surveillance video in a 2018 kidnapping case after a car with two young children inside was stolen from a Rally’s restaurant parking lot on the East Side but closed the investigation due to a lack of new evidence.