PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Cortney Warren said a Pinellas County Child Protection Investigator made her believe she was the center of an investigation into alleged abuse against her children.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri fired Jayne Johnson, 56, on Friday after a review board found, “Johnson misused her position as a child protection investigator.”
Warren said her ex-boyfriend and father of their three children, Yohotoshi Rumph, told her she needed to contact Johnson about an investigation into alleged drug use and abuse. Warren said she met with Johnson at the sheriff’s office.
“I was going crazy and I was pregnant at the time my stress level was through the roof,” Warren said.
Warren said she became suspicious of Johnson and and started searching through the Facebook profile of Tina Burgess. According to investigators Burgess’ granddaughter, Amber Rumph, is now married to Warren’s ex-boyfriend, Yohotoshi Rumph.
In a post from Sept. of 2016 Warren said she found a photo of Burgess and Johnson together. She took that photo to the judge handling her custody battle. The judge dug deeper. Warren said he called Johnson from his chambers to get to the bottom of what was happening. Then forwarded a letter of his findings to the sheriff’s office.
“She went against everything she took an oath on and to be a supervisor I just hope no one else was affected,” Warren said. “They need to be held accountable for their actions.”
The sheriff’s office investigation revealed, “On July 12, 2017, Johnson being a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and friend of Burgess' agreed and brought the three children to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Child Protection Investigation facility. While this was not a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office matter or investigation, Johnson who was in uniform utilized the Sheriff's Office facility and Sheriff's Office resources to conduct psychosocial evaluations on each child. She made recommendations to a circuit court judge to influence the outcome of a child custody dispute.”
The sheriff’s office goes on to say “Johnson violated state law and committed a felony by failing to report suspected child abuse, abandonment or neglect of a child. Under state law, a child protection investigator supervisor is considered a mandatory
reporter of child abuse and Johnson failed to report such abuse so a proper
investigation could be conducted to ensure the children's safety.”
No one answered the door at Johnson’s home for comment.
Warren won full custody of her children in September.
The sheriff’s office investigation continues. Johnson could face criminal charges.
