Associated Press

A former Iowa social worker has been charged with three counts of perjury in connection with what prosecutors say is false testimony in child welfare cases.

Former Iowa Department of Human Services employee Chelsie Gray was charged Monday in connection with statements she made in December 2017 in a Cerro Gordo County case, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Criminal complaints released Tuesday allege that Gray lied repeatedly during a 2017 hearing in which she recommended a judge terminate the parental rights of a mother and father.

A judge in June found Gray told "lies and misrepresentations" during the proceeding, in which parents were unfairly stripped of their rights to four children. She falsely claimed she routinely visited the family as required and spoke to the children's teachers.

The judge dismissed the termination-of-parental-rights orders.

Complaints filed in the case say Gray admitted the false testimony when confronted.

Gray resigned from DHS last year.

Perjury is a felony that can be punished by up to five years in prison.