Ex-Caseworker Relieved That Conviction Overturned

The Indiana Court of Appeals has overturned the obstruction of justice conviction of a former Family and Social Services Administration caseworker in connection with a 4-year-old boy's death.

Denise Moore was convicted in 2005 after prosecutors alleged she lied about doing a background check on a couple that adopted Anthony Bars, who died in 2002 of dehydration. The court on Wednesday dismissed the conviction, saying the case was filed three months after the statute of limitations had expired in the case.

The judges also ruled that even had the case been filed in time, the evidence presented was not enough to convict her of obstruction of justice.

"I can't even say how much weight (has been) lifted," Moore told reporters after the conviction was overturned.

Moore was originally sentenced to 18 months of probation and 260 hours of community service in the case.

Prosecutors had said that Moore removed the child from a foster home and placed him with L.B. and Latricia Bars, who adopted him. Authorities said the boy died in January 2002 while in the couple's custody.

Authorities said the boy was deprived of food and had suffered head injuries and a broken collarbone. He weighed 24 pounds at death.

Prosecutors alleged that a background check would have found three cases of substantiated abuse in the couple's home. L.B. and Latricia Bars were convicted of child neglect and are serving prison terms.

Moore was fired as a caseworker for the FSSA in 2004 after the agency determined she lied about the background check.

On Wednesday, the appeals court noted that Moore was accused of submitting false background reports in the Bars adoption by Nov. 11, 1999, and that she wasn't indicted until Feb. 19, 2004.

"This prosecution was brought three months after the statute of limitations had expired," the court ruled.

Anthony Bars

The appeals court also ruled that "there was not a shred of evidence that Moore actually intended to mislead a public official."

"Even if the charges had been filed in a timely fashion, the evidence was insufficient to convict Moore," the court ruled.

Lisa Borges, of the Marion County prosecutor's office, said the office doesn't agree with the court's assessment of the statute of limitations issue. She said the court should have considered when the background reports were presented to a judge, which prosecutors claim was within the legal time period.

Borges said prosecutors also believe there was sufficient evidence to convict Moore. The state attorney general's office said it plans to appeal Wednesday's ruling.

After her conviction, Moore completed her community service and obtained a master's degree in social work. She is working at a counseling center in the private sector, 6News' Jeremy Brilliant reported.