Boone County Sheriff's deputies arrested a state social worker at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services office in Florence on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Alan Zhang, 24, allegedly sent two girls showing signs of abuse back to their home, where they were beaten again, as first reported by FOX19 NOW. Zhang faces four misdemeanor charges: official misconduct, wanton endangerment, failure to report child abuse and complicity to commit assault.

He was booked into the Boone County Jail on a $5,000 bond and has since posted bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Gallatin County Court. If convicted on all charges, he could face up to a year behind bars, according to Local 12/WKRC.

The case stems from an Aug. 28 report by an employee at Gallatin County Lower Elementary School. The employee contacted the Cabinet for Health and Family Services about potential physical abuse of two girls, ages 6 and 8. Zhang, a social worker assigned to the case, arrived at the school 3.5 hours after the call, according to the criminal complaint.

At the school, Zhang had a nurse photograph the children's injuries and interviewed each girl separately. The complaint states he asked school staff more than once whether they had called law enforcement. Each time, staff said no, telling him they believed the cabinet would contact police if warranted.

After calling his supervisor and learning one girl said her mother's boyfriend had choked her, Zhang returned to the office area. He said "he wasn't comfortable with the situation" and directed the school to send the children home, according to the complaint.

School staff did not feel comfortable with that decision.

During a second phone call with the girls' mother, Phyllis Culp, 29, school officials said they could hear Culp's boyfriend, Kyle Reynold, 23, screaming and cursing in the background. Both children were beaten when they arrived home, the complaint states.

Gallatin County Attorney Grant Axon told WCPO on Sept. 22 that investigators believe the girls were beaten again during an approximately 30-minute window before deputies arrived.

School officials ultimately called 911 themselves, requesting an officer go to the Cedar Inn, where the family was temporarily living. That call revealed Zhang had allegedly never contacted law enforcement about the suspected abuse.

Gallatin County Sheriff's Deputies Matthew Daily and Alex Branstutter were dispatched to assist. Deputy Branstutter contacted Zhang's supervisor, who said Zhang had not told her the extent of the children's injuries. The supervisor said the cabinet would not take custody and sent Zhang back to the home to "re-work his investigation," the complaint states.

When Zhang interviewed Culp at the scene, Deputy Branstutter noted he made no eye contact with the mother and read questions at a rapid speed. The complaint states the deputy "believes that the offender showed complete disregard for his duty or the integrity of his investigation."

A forensic exam documented 32 injuries on one girl's face and body and 23 on the other's. Both were taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital with black eyes, strangulation marks and significant bruising.

Axon told Local 12/WKRC that criminal charges against a cabinet worker are extremely rare in Kentucky. "Our research would suggest that in Kentucky, it may have been as many as 50 years ago since something like that has occurred," he said.

Reynold faces 11 counts including attempted murder of a child, assault, strangulation and criminal abuse of a child under 12. Culp was arrested Sept. 2 after the hospital reported serious concerns about her. She faces charges of criminal abuse, endangering the welfare of a minor, complicity to strangulation and complicity to assault.

Both Reynold and Culp are held at the Grant County Detention Center on $1 million bonds each. Their case is awaiting review by a Gallatin County grand jury.

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services said through deputy executive director Beth Fisher on Sept. 30 that the agency takes the allegations seriously and is reviewing the situation.