A social worker allegedly sent 2 girls back to an abusive home despite visible injuries. Police say they were nearly killed

A Kentucky social worker is facing criminal charges after allegedly failing to protect two young girls, who were sent back to a home where they were allegedly abused after showing clear signs of physical trauma at school. Alan Zhang, 24, an employee with the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services, was arrested on a Gallatin County warrant, according to Law&Crime. The Kentucky social worker faces second-degree official misconduct and second-degree wanton endangerment charges, according to court records.

He also faces two counts of failure to report child dependency, neglect or abuse and two counts of fourth-degree assault involving complicity. He was released after posting a $5,000 bond. Gallatin County Attorney Grant Axon told the outlet that prosecutors believe the Kentucky social worker failed in his responsibility to protect the children. Axon said the assault charges are tied to the girls being abused again after they returned home at Zhang’s direction.

School employees noticed what they described as obvious signs of abuse on two students, ages six and eight, including black eyes, bruises, bite marks, and marks around their necks. Zhang arrived roughly three and a half hours after the staff contacted the state child-protection agency, according to the criminal complaint. One girl told Zhang that her mother’s boyfriend had choked her, according to the complaint.

Investigators say the girls were beaten again before deputies reached them

After consulting his supervisor, he said he was not comfortable with the situation but told staff to send the girls home. The school had not called police, as staff believed the agency would contact law enforcement if warranted. The staff called the girls’ mother twice as they felt uneasy about the decision, and during the second call they reportedly heard her boyfriend, 23-year-old Kyle Reynold, screaming and cursing.

Staff then called 911 to ask deputies to meet the girls at their temporary residence, the Cedar Inn in Glencoe. The complaint alleges Zhang never called law enforcement himself. The girls arrived at the motel roughly 30 minutes before deputies, according to Axon, and the complaint says both were beaten again. Both girls were later taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where a forensic examination documented 32 visible injuries on one and 23 on the other, according to court documents.

The girls’ mother, 29-year-old Phyllis Culp, is also charged with criminal abuse of a child and complicity in strangulation and assault. She allegedly admitted that she hid in the bathroom during the abuse and covered the girls’ bruises with makeup. It’s not the first time a mother was charged in abuse of their children, but it always complicates cases.

Zhang’s supervisor sent him back to redo his investigation, as she told a deputy at the scene that he had not relayed the extent of the girls’ injuries to her, according to the complaint. However, the deputy who filed the complaint wrote that Zhang appeared to show “complete disregard for his duty or the integrity of his investigation.”

The complaint says the Kentucky social worker kept saying the Cabinet would not take custody of the girls, even after deputies arrested Reynold. He also allegedly told an EMS worker he “had places to be” and wanted to know what was happening so he could leave. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services said it recognizes the seriousness of the allegations. Axon told the outlet that communication between the Kentucky social worker and his supervisor is now a focus of the investigation.

He said investigators do not yet know exactly what the two discussed. Axon said the Kentucky social worker may not be the only Cabinet employee to face charges, and added that he has not encountered a similar prosecution of a social worker in his own career.