HAMILTON — Officials of two local mental health agencies say they want to press criminal charges after discovering that fake reports on five clients were filed in court.

        Kenneth Tepe, chief clinical officer of the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Butler County, and John Staup, executive director of the Butler County Mental Health Board, said last week that they would like to see an ex-employee of the center prosecuted for a falsification.

        Dr. Tepe said he fired the employee, a woman in her 50s, in March after learning that she had forged his signature and the signature of an Oxford therapist. In addition, the woman also had apparently falsified five mental health reports that were filed in Butler County Probate Court, Dr. Tepe said. The woman had nothing to gain by falsifying the reports, he said, so it's likely her actions were a misguided attempt to expedite procedures.

        The reports tended to portray the clients' mental conditions as worse than they actually were, Mr. Staup said.

        Dr. Tepe said he personally reviewed all five cases to correct any injustices. He signed papers releasing two of the clients from court supervision, saying their mental conditions were under sufficient control.

        The three other clients underwent new court hearings with valid mental health reports.

        Mr. Staup had filed a March 28 report with Hamilton police, alleging forgery. However, police last week said they learned the victims of that alleged crime, Dr. Tepe and the Oxford therapist, do not want to pursue that charge, which is a felony.

        Hamilton police last week said their investigation into the forgery concluded without prosecution, but falsification charges are possible if Dr. Tepe, the therapist and Mr. Staup ask detectives to further investigate.

        In interviews with the Enquirer last week, Dr. Tepe and Mr. Staup both said they wanted to pursue charges of falsification, a misdemeanor, given that the woman's actions hurt the five involved clients, the center, the board and the probate court.

        The woman had been working since January as a liaison between the forensic center, which is a private organization, and the county mental health board. She was supposed to ensure that documents were in order for the board to present in probate court cases involving people under court-ordered mental health care. But the woman overstepped her bounds, Dr. Tepe said.

        “To essentially fabricate a report is astounding (and) terrifically unprofessional,” he said.

        The allegations came to light after a client, upset about inaccurate information presented on his case in court, obtained a copy of a report. The client then confronted the Oxford therapist, and the therapist said someone had falsified the report and forged the therapist's signature, officials said.

        Dr. Tepe said he has no reason to believe any other cases were affected.

        He said the agency has established new procedures, such as increasing contact between the liaison and the probate court, to prevent a recurrence. “I'm glad that we caught it,” he said. “It's something that never should have happened.”

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