IUKA, Miss — UPDATE 1/5/2022 - A 27-year-old former social worker with the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services has received eight years in prison for sex crimes involving two teenage boys under her care.
Lauren Rose Cavness of Tishomingo, appeared Wednesday before Tishomingo County Circuit Judge Kelly Mims. He sentenced her to 71 years for three felony charges but suspended most of it.
Evidence showed Cavness was 24 when she had sex with two 16-year-old boys she was assigned to help.
Cavness apologized to her victims and their families. She said her behavior brought "immense shame" to her family, her community and the profession.
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9/9/2021 - Authorities said a former state social worker has pleaded guilty to sex crimes involving young people that were under her care.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports that former Department of Child Protection Services employee Lauren Rose Cavness pleaded guilty Wednesday to three charges.
Authorities said she pleaded guilty to sexual battery of a child under her care; to possessing a sexually explicit photograph of a child; and to harboring or concealing a runaway.
Her attorney, Tony Farese, said Cavness was terminated by the agency in February 2020. He said she has cooperated with law enforcement by turning herself in to authorities after her indictment.