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A Warsaw woman faces charges of neglect of a dependent and failure to report child abuse in connection with a 1998 incident.
Charges were filed against Teresa L. Dobbs, 35, of 509 N. Columbia St., Warsaw, April 6 in Kosciusko Circuit Court. Dobbs was served with the court papers April 10 and summoned to appear today to answer to the charges. The neglect charge is a Class D felony punishable by a maximum of three years in prison and the other charge, a Class B misdemeanor, carries a maximum jail term of 180 days.
According to court documents, Dobbs did not report the sexual abuse of a 9-year-old girl by Dobbs' then live-in boyfriend, 33-year-old Randy Lamb. The alleged molestation occurred Dec. 31, 1998. A Class C felony charge of child molesting was filed against Lamb in March.
Lamb reportedly moved out of the home the day after the alleged molestation, but Dobbs never reported the incident to authorities. The matter was brought to the attention of the Division of Family and Children Services after the girl, now 11, viewed a "good touch-bad touch" program at her school on Jan. 16.
A case worker with the DFCS reported telling Dobbs in June 1997 that the children in the house were at risk because Lamb is a convicted child molester and is listed on the Indiana Sexual and Violent Offender Registry.
