A former state social worker has pleaded guilty to sex crimes involving young people that were under her care, authorities said.

Former Department of Child Protection Services employee Lauren Rose Cavness pleaded guilty Wednesday to three charges, The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported.
She pleaded guilty to sexual battery of a child under her care while she worked as a social worker; to possessing a sexually explicit photograph of a child; and to harboring or concealing a runaway child, Tishomingo County Circuit Clerk Josh McNatt said.

A grand jury indicted Cavness in September 2020. Sentencing was deferred until January 2022, McNatt said.

Cavness began working for Child Protection Services in 2017 was terminated in February 2020, said her attorney, Tony Farese. She has cooperated with law enforcement by turning herself in to authorities after her indictment, he said.