A Northeast Iowa social services worker has entered a guilty plea to perjury over her false testimony that helped convince a judge to remove four children from their parents. Former Iowa Department of Human Services employee Chelsie Gray, of Lawler entered a written Alford plea to the felony charge last week under a proposed plea agreement with prosecutors. Such a plea is an acknowledgment that prosecutors may have enough evidence to prove her guilt at trial but that she maintains her innocence. If accepted by a judge, prosecutors would dismiss two other perjury counts and she will be recommended for a deferred judgment. That means the charge would be wiped away from her record if she stays out of trouble. A judge has scheduled a plea and sentencing hearing for Dec. 3. The 30 year old Gray was charged in April with making several false statements during a December 2017 hearing in which she recommended a judge terminate the parental rights of a mother and father.
