FORMER FBI BIOLOGIST PLEADS GUILTY TO FILING FALSE DNA LABORATORY REPORTS

The following press release was published by the US Department of Justice on May 18, 2004. It is reproduced in full below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2004 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRM (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray of the Criminal Division and Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn A. Fine announced today that a former biologist in the FBI’s DNA laboratory has pleaded guilty to falsifying reports prepared in connection with the evaluation of DNA evidence in numerous cases.

Jacqueline M. Blake, 40, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty at a hearing before Magistrate Judge Alan Kay of the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia. Blake pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging that she made false statements in preparing her official government laboratory reports.

Blake faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 20, 2004.

In her plea of guilty, Blake admitted that, from approximately August 1999 to June 2002, she authored and submitted over 100 casework reports containing false statements regarding the DNA analysis she performed. Specifically, Blake falsely certified that she properly completed several control tests, knowing that she had in fact failed to perform them. These tests are designed to preserve the scientific integrity of the examination process and the reliability of the test results. FBI and Department of Justice analyses, including the retesting of the evidence in many of the cases, have demonstrated that while Blake’s actions did not affect the outcome in any criminal case in which her test results were presented as evidence, her false statements undermined the usefulness of the DNA tests she performed and, in general, the integrity of the FBI’s DNA lab. The Department of Justice Inspector General has conducted a broad review of the lab unit in which Blake worked and will issue a report in the near future detailing its findings and recommendations.

This case is being handled by Trial Attorneys Noah D. Bookbinder and Armando O. Bonilla of the Public Integrity Section, headed by Section Chief Noel L. Hillman. The case is being investigated by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. 04-340

Source: US Department of Justice