Allegations made in 2019 that Bryan County was misappropriating funds meant to go to victims witness programs were untrue, a Macon-based forensic auditor told Bryan County Commissioners on Tuesday.

The auditor, Chris Edwards, was hired by the county to look into the claims of mismanagement made by Dr. Trinity Ingram-Jones, a pediatric nurse practitioner who specializes in child sexual abuse cases and runs a local nonprofit called The Cottage.

Edwards said he could find “no improprieties, no errors, no irregularities, no fraud,” after examining all financial records pertaining to Local Victims Assistant Program funds dating back to 2009, and gave the county an unmodified, or “clean” audit, the highest an auditor can give. He said the difference between records kept by the county and the state agency tasked with overseeing the LVAP program varied by $215 out of more than $759,000 in such funds, which come from fees imposed by courts. Edwards also noted the county didn’t take money it was entitled to – a 5 percent fee allowed by the state to handle the funds.

Bryan County Commission Chairman Carter Infinger said the county spent $10,000 on the outside audit after the allegations were made.

Editor’s note:Up next, another look at the issue of LVAP funding, online fake news and the brave women who spoke out Tuesday about the need for services such as those provided by The Cottage.