[Edward Sutelan/Dispatch photo] ▲

Det. Amy Welsh, a 24-year veteran, has been charged with three counts of dereliction of duty after being accused of failing to properly investigate several cases, including a kidnapping case and a sexual assault case. Interim Police Chief Thomas Quinlan announced the charges, as well as Welsh's suspension, Wednesday.

A Columbus police detective has been suspended and was charged in Franklin County Municipal Court after an internal review determined she failed to properly investigate several cases.

Detective Amy Welsh, a 24-year division veteran, faces three counts of dereliction of duty, Interim Police Chief Thomas Quinlan said Wednesday morning.

The charges against Welsh were included in an announcement by Quinlan and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien about the formation some weeks ago of a conviction-integrity review team that is examining past cases for possible misconduct and new evidence.

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Quinlan said the unit was formed as part of his efforts to make the city's police division more accountable to the public, not because of the Welsh case.

O'Brien said his office has had an informal review process to look at cases in which issues about the integrity of a conviction have been raised, but now there will be a more-formal process in partnership with the police division.

Welsh's conduct was discovered after her testimony and investigation in a felonious assault case tried in Delaware County were called into question in late June.

Quinlan said the victim in that case was the daughter of a Columbus police officer who filed an internal affairs complaint. The suspect was acquitted on all charges.

Though no charges have been filed against Welsh in connection with the Delaware County case, an internal affairs investigation found at least 13 instances in which Welsh was clocked in but not at work, which resulted in her being relieved of duty on July 30.

When officers relieved Welsh of duty, Quinlan said they were required to get access badges from her desk, which led to the discovery of case files and evidence that had not been filed according to procedure.

The public corruption task force officer within the Division of Police was then asked to investigate the case for possible criminal charges.

Two of the three charges filed against Welsh involve a sexual assault case that occurred in June 2012. The 21-year-old victim had a sexual assault examination done at a hospital, results of which were collected and turned in to Columbus police. No lab request was done on that kit, according to the charges.

In September 2014, a property room clerk discovered the kit had not been tested and forwarded it for DNA testing against the records of criminal offenders at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation lab, which resulted in a hit for a possible suspect.

The court documents noted Welsh was notified in October 2014 and again in September 2015 of the DNA match but failed to act.

The third charge against Welsh is related to her handling of a kidnapping case that began in June 2018. According to court records, the victim had parked his vehicle outside a business on East Livingston Avenue and left it running while his two children were inside. The car was stolen with the children inside. The children were dropped off a few blocks away and safely returned, according to the documents.

Welsh was the lead detective in the case, according to the records, and obtained a subpoena for surveillance footage from the business. A DVD of the video was mailed to her in July 2018, but the DVD was found unopened in Welsh's desk on Aug. 5, 2019, according to court records.

Welsh had closed the investigation into the kidnapping in September 2018 due to a lack of new evidence, having never opened the video or watched it, according to the records.

Welsh, who has worked as a physical abuse, sexual assault and homicide detective, faces an internal investigation as well as the misdemeanor charges. She is expected to appear in court for an arraignment on Sept. 27.

O'Brien said his office examined other cases and convictions in which Welsh played a large role and found no reason to doubt the integrity of any of those cases.

Quinlan said the police conviction-integrity review team has reviewed 477 sexual assault cases investigated between 2012 and 2018. Those reviews have resulted in eight cases being reopened. An additional 55 physical abuse cases and 58 homicide cases have been reviewed, with no reopening or further investigation needed.

The review of cases is ongoing.

O'Brien said he does not believe the review process will result in an overwhelming influx of requests to look at past cases.

"I don't fear the floodgates to be open," O'Brien said. "And if they are, we'll look at each one of those cases properly."

bbruner@dispatch.com

@Bethany_Bruner