Springfield, Illinois – On January 25, 2024, Springfield Police went to the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services, located at 1124 N. Walnut St., to execute an arrest warrant for one of their employees.

The arrest warrant was for Audrey G. Church, age 56, who is a supervisor with DCFS. She had been charged in Quincy, Illinois, with three counts of Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person. According to documents we’ve obtained, the first charge alleges that Audrey, who was in a position of trust, committed Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person over the age of 80 and knowingly and illegally used $5,000 of assets. The second charge alleges that Audrey, who was in a position of trust, committed Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person over the age of 80 and knowingly and illegally used $5,000 of assets. The third and last charge alleges that Audrey, who was in a position of trust, committed Financial Exploitation of an Elderly Person over the age of 80 and knowingly and illegally used over $300 but less than $5,000 of assets. The charges allege that she committed these crimes between March 22, 2023, and December 23, 2023.

We reached out to the Quincy Police Department to get a copy of the police report. However, we were denied access to the police report and have since appealed that denial to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

A source tells us that the victim in this case is Audrey’s mother; however, according to the documents we were able to obtain, we couldn’t independently verify if that is correct, but we were able to confirm that the victim is, in fact, a close relative of Audrey.

According to state records, Audrey was originally hired as a Child Protection Specialist and earned $76,296 as a base pay, but as a result of overtime, she earned a total of $119,300 last year. As of January 1, 2024, she was then promoted to a Public Service Administrator and received a $12,684 yearly increase in pay.

We also reached out to Heather Tarczan, the Director of Communications with the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services, for comment. She informed us that she was looking into it, but as of the time of publishing, we have not heard back from her. Additionally, we have been informed that Audrey is still employed as a supervisor with DCFS.

Audrey is expected to return to court tomorrow, February 21, 2024, at 9:30 a.m.