ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A jury has found Robin Niceta, a former Arapahoe County social worker, guilty of both felony attempt to influence a public servant and misdemeanor false reporting of child abuse.
The verdict came down on Tuesday afternoon after closing arguments were made earlier in the day. The prosecution asked for her personal recognizance bond to be reassessed. It was changed to a $10,000 cash bond.
Her sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 19 at 11 a.m.
Niceta was previously accused of filing a false child abuse claim against Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky after the councilwoman criticized former Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson, who was at the time still Aurora's police chief, on a conservative radio talk show in January. At that time, Niceta and Wilson were dating.
The day after the radio interview, Niceta made an anonymous report to the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services' Division of Child and Adult Protective Services claiming that she had "personally observed" two incidents that involved Jurinsky allegedly committing child abuse against her child, according to an affidavit. An investigation concluded on Feb. 14, 2022 after 15 days, and found no wrongdoing on Jurinsky's part, according to the affidavit.
Niceta resigned from her position on May 4, 2022 after investigators spoke with her about her suspected involvement. Jurinsky told Denver7 she believed the false report was made in retaliation.
By May 2022, Niceta was criminally charged with felony attempt to influence a public servant and misdemeanor false reporting of child abuse. She pleaded not guilty to the charges in December 2022.
In January 2023, Niceta was ordered to pay $3 million in damages to Councilwoman Jurinsky in a civil case that the councilwoman filed against Niceta for libel and slander.
In first day of trial, defense attorneys claim Niceta did not make call alleging child abuse
During opening statements Monday, prosecutors in the trial of Robin Niceta began by telling the jury that the case is full of revenge and retaliation, while her defense attorneys said somebody else is to blame.
Prosecutors played a recording of the phone complaint, in which a caller accused Councilwoman Jurinsky of child abuse. The caller asked to stay anonymous, however the phone number was documented. Prosecutors said that number was linked to Niceta's cell phone number. Niceta's defense attorneys said that the call was instead placed by Wilson, not Niceta.
Following opening statements, Michelle Dossey took to the witness stand. Dossey was Niceta's boss at the time of the anonymous phone call. Dossey testified that the voice on the phone was Niceta.
Councilwoman Jurinsky also testified Monday, recalling the emotional day when she received a call from the Department of Human Services, saying she was being investigated for allegedly abusing her son. Her testimony included details of what the case worker recounted to her, including an incorrect home address and age for her son.
Later, Arapahoe County Sgt. Johnny Turnidge took the stand, and jurors watched his May 2022 interview with Niceta. During the recording, Turnidge informs Niceta he has data to support the false child abuse claim was made from Niceta's personal cell phone. Niceta maintained that she did not make the call, stating others have access to her phone and passwords, Wilson being one of them.
During the interview, Niceta would not confirm whether she knew for sure Wilson made the call during the interview, but her defense now alleges this is the case.
Trial continues into second day, which ends with verdict
Two additional witnesses took the stand on Tuesday.
One was forensic analyst Michael Garnsey, who gave insight on Niceta's devices.
Garnsey testified that Niceta's county-issued laptop, which could not be unlocked unless two-factor authentication was used, showed keyword searches such as "Danielle Jurinsky address," "child abuse and neglect reporting hotline," and "does the child abuse hotline keep phone numbers."
He also provided testimony about an Apple Watch that had synced to the phone that made the call. The watch recorded Niceta's heart rate at the time, and Garnsey testified that is only possible if the person wearing the watch is in the vicinity of phone.
The second witness of the day was Marci LeBranche, Niceta's former attorney. LeBranche said she had to recuse herself from the case after she learned Niceta's MRI scans showing of glioblastoma were taken from Google Images and were not hers.
The falsified medical records were admitted in this case.
Closing arguments wrapped Tuesday afternoon. The verdict was read around an hour later, at 4:15 p.m.
Latest on alleged false medical report
In a separate case, Niceta and her mother, Janice Dudley, previously pleaded not guilty on Oct. 27 to several charges against them in connection with an alleged false medical report. They are accused of fabricating medical records to claim Niceta had a brain tumor and was incompetent to stand trial in Colorado for the charges in connection with the false child abuse complaint.
Niceta faces 10 charges, including multiple counts of conspiracy to attempt to influence a public servant, forgery and tampering with physical evidence. Dudley faces four counts of conspiracy to attempt to influence a public servant, tampering with evidence and forgery.
Denver7 Investigates
Robin Niceta made up medical records, aggressive brain cancer diagnosis: Docs
An indictment released in July revealed information about the medical records Niceta’s previous defense team submitted to the court. The records included a two-page report from a person named Dr. C Marquez from New Mexico Oncology, stating Niceta had an MRI which revealed she had brain cancer, a letter denying her participation in a clinical trial, and four MRI images allegedly showing a brain tumor, the indictment revealed.
According to the indictment, a person claimed to be Dr. Marquez stated the MRIs submitted were of Niceta’s brain. But the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office was unable to verify the identity of a "Dr. C. Marquez" or locate any person by that name licensed in New Mexico. The DA's Office asked a doctor at Denver Health to separately evaluate Niceta’s medical records. According to the indictment, that doctor claimed the MRI scans appeared to be images pulled from an internet search and were “photoshopped.” Additionally, a Facebook page for New Mexico Oncology was created in January of 2023 and had no activity after that date. A website was also allegedly created in January 2023 for the same supposed clinic, according to the indictment.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office dug deeper into the phone number, website and Facebook page supposedly tied to the New Mexico oncology clinic. According to the indictment, Verizon provided phone records referenced as New Mexico Oncology, which showed the phone was tied to a TracFone account. Verizon records tied to the number showed 91 phone calls in 138 days, of which 42 were allegedly tied to Niceta, the indictment read. A subpoena revealed the TracFone account was tied to a credit card number allegedly owned by Dudley, according to the indictment, and Niceta was an authorized user.
Investigators attempting to verify the physical address of "New Mexico Oncology" found the address was not valid.
Niceta’s former defense team filed a motion on May 11, dropping her as a client once concerns over the validity of the medical records they submitted on her behalf became public.
