JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) – A Washington County woman accused of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect previously served as a Washington County, Tennessee 911 dispatcher, county officials confirmed on Friday.
According to Washington County 911 Director Greg Matherly, Kirsten Jenkins joined his office full-time as a dispatcher in January after a period of sporadic part-time work. Before the 4-count indictment was made public, Matherly said Jenkins resigned effective immediately and without explanation roughly two weeks ago. Jenkins was taken into police custody on Dec. 22.
Matherly said his office was unaware of the investigation until the charges were announced, and he was never contacted in connection to the charges.
According to documents filed with Washington County Criminal Court, a Grand Jury found probable cause to accuse Jenkins of neglecting and abusing a child under the age of 9 within the date ranges of March 7 to May 12 and May 22 to Aug. 5, 2022.
Jenkins is set to appear in court on April 3, 2023 in Washington County Criminal Court and was held in the Washington County Detention Center under a $100,000 bond as of Thursday.
