Arrest report details how a DCF caseworker allegedly helped a Hartford mother evade arrest on child sex abuse, trafficking charges

Hartford Courant - 8/16/2022

The arrest report for the DCF caseworker who allegedly helped a mother wanted for child sex abuse and trafficking charges detailed how police say the pair left the facility undetected during a supervised visit, attempted calls from supervisors to return and the mother’s eventual arrest by the Hartford Police Department.

The Hartford Courant obtained the incident report detailing Melisa Roberson’s arrest. Roberson is charged with risk of injury to a minor and first-degree hindering prosecution, according to the report.

A Hartford Police Department officer responded to the DCF building in Hartford at 250 Hamilton St. on Friday around 5 p.m. for a report that a mother for whom there was an active warrant was present at the facility. The mother was wanted on several child sexual abuse and trafficking-related charges, according to the police report.

The Hartford police officer spoke with a security staff member at the facility, who said he would need to speak with his supervisor and DCF staff. The security officer went into the front office and met with the other staff members. DCF front office workers then told the Hartford police officer that, after speaking with the caseworker, they could not confirm or deny whether the mother was in the building. The police officer the read the entry and exit log in plain view on the front desk, which had the mother’s name listed as entering the building at 4:19 p.m. with no exit log, according to the arrest report.

After further conversations, the officer left the building and met with the person, a foster parent, who reported the mother’s presence at the facility. She told the officer that she saw the mother enter through the main entrance of the DCF building and knew it was the mother since she was familiar with one of the mother’s children, according to the police report.

The foster parent told police that she and the mother had a physical dispute in East Hartford the previous week, the report said.

The foster parent told the officer that she had gone to the DCF office because she knew of an active arrest warrant issued by the court against the mother. She told police that the mother was accused of sex trafficking by the mother’s underage daughter, according to the report.

The foster parent told police she saw the mother’s white Honda SUV on the curb in front of the building, which the officer then confirmed belonged to her through a license plate check. The officer saw the vehicle outside at the time, according to the police report.

The officer then returned to the building around 5:30 p.m. to check to see whether the ledger had an exit time next to the mother’s name, and it did not. The officer asked security if they could confirm her presence and the security staff could not and told police most of the DCF staff had left the building, the report said.

Police then learned that the mother’s assigned case worker was Roberson. They attempted to contact Roberson but were unable to reach her, so police then attempted to reach her supervisor.

The supervisor told police that she had called Roberson and instructed her not to leave the facility with the child or provide transportation to the mother. She also said she openly discourages these types of actions, according to the report. Roberson’s supervisor also told police she told Roberson to return the mother and the child if she did leave the building. The supervisor said, after not hearing from Roberson, she made numerous attempts to get her on the phone with no success.

DCF officials said they worked with Hartford police to respond “swiftly” to this incident in a statement to The Courant. The agency did not name the mother.

“Our administration is built upon trust with the children and families we serve, community partners and members of the public with whom we engage on a daily basis,” DCF Commissioner Vanessa Dorantes said in the statement. “We remain committed to holding ourselves accountable in transparent manner and a Human Resources investigation has commenced.”

At around 6:45 p.m., Roberson, the mother and Roberson’s supervisor arrived at the DCF facility with a man who identified himself as the mother’s father, according to the report.

Police then placed Roberson under arrested and she was transported to the Special Investigations Division building on High Street.

Officers then met with the man, who told them he was contacted by his daughter, who was asking for a ride. The man said his daughter told him she was standing on a porch a few blocks from the DCF building. The mother told him that her DCF case worker, Roberson, had informed her police were present and wanted to arrest her, according to the report.

The man then told police his daughter said Roberson gave her a ride to her current location a few blocks away to avoid police, according to the report. The man said he told his daughter he felt “such actions were inappropriate” and encouraged her to go back to the DCF facility to “clear up the matter,” according to the report.

The man then drove her back to the facility to meet with the police, the report said.

Police also spoke with Roberson’s supervisor, who re-affirmed what she previously told officers and provided more detail, according to the report.

The supervisor said Roberson had been the mother’s caseworker for about 30 days and had not had extensive contact with the mother. She said Roberson knew of the accusations of sexual abuse against the mother in regard to her children and that the mother was under investigation by the Hartford Police Department, the report said.

The supervisor said she contacted Roberson after speaking with the police and advised her not to leave with the mother or the child. Roberson then declined further calls from her supervisor, who then called the program supervisor, who met with the police as well, the report said.

The program supervisor said she was able to speak with Roberson over the phone after multiple attempts and “firmly instructed” her to come back to the DCF facility, according to the report.

Police then spoke with the mother at their facility on High Street around 9 p.m. on Friday. The mother told them she had gone to DCF for a scheduled visit with her children. The visit was supposed to be for one hour, according to the report.

During the visit, the mother said Roberson told her the police were out front and wanted to speak with her. The mother told police Roberson then told her to exit through the back door, according to the report.

According to the mother, she got into Roberson’s state-issued vehicle with her child and Roberson drove them to an intersection near New Park Avenue, where Roberson instructed the mother to wait until the police were no longer around. The mother then told police Roberson brought the child back to the child’s foster parents, according to the report.

At the end of her police interview, the mother was informed that she had an active warrant charging her with second-degree conspiracy to commit sexual assault, trafficking in person, second-degree criminal liability for act of another to commit second-degree sexual assault, conspiracy to commit commercial sexual abuse of a minor and risk of injury to a minor, according to the police report. She was then transported to the Hartford Police Department booking facility for further processing.

Robertson invoked her right to legal representation and declined to speak with the police. She was also processed and booked at the Hartford police booking facility.

Robertson’s attorney, Steven Slattery, declined comment on Tuesday.

DCF declined further comment, citing an active criminal and internal investigation into the incident.