John Jefferson
Left: Robin Niceta appears in court (KUSA). Right: Niceta (Colorado Department of Corrections).
A Colorado woman who falsely accused a city council member of child abuse after she criticized her girlfriend has admitted to lying again — this time about a cancer diagnosis.
As Law&Crime has previously reported, Niceta, a social worker, was convicted in November of calling in a fake child abuse report against Aurora City Council member Danielle Jurinsky after Jurinsky criticized Niceta’s girlfriend at the time, Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson. Niceta called Arapahoe County Department of Human Services alleging that Jurinsky had been sexually inappropriate with her children. The accusation launched a yearlong investigation into Jurinsky, who was ultimately completely absolved of any suspicions, and Niceta was convicted of a felony count of attempting to influence a public servant and a misdemeanor count of filing a false child abuse report and sentenced to four years in prison.
Over the course of that case, however, Niceta continued to pile on the lies. In an apparent attempt to delay the trial, Niceta allegedly fabricated medical records to support a claim that she had a brain tumor. This led to a temporary determination in March that she was incompetent to stand trial. Niceta’s oncologist, however, couldn’t be found, according to local Fox affiliate KDVR, and Niceta was determined to have provided stock images discovered during a Google search for “gioblastoma.”
Niceta’s lawyers withdrew from the case after realizing they submitted fake medical documents.
On Tuesday, Niceta pleaded guilty to multiple counts of forgery, attempting to influence a public servant, tampering with evidence, and criminal impersonation, the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office announced.
The prosecutor’s office detailed the extent of Niceta’s fake cancer scheme.
“The defense filed a report from a ‘Dr. C. Marquez’ at ‘New Mexico Oncology’ who diagnosed Niceta with glioblastoma (GBM), a rare form of brain cancer.” the statement said. “Further investigation revealed no one was licensed to practice medicine in New Mexico with that name. A local doctor with Denver Health reviewed the alleged brain cancer diagnosis and verified the paperwork contained numerous typographical errors and improperly used various medical terminology. In addition to this discovery, the MRI scans provided contained pictures identical to those found on the Internet.”
Investigators also found that a Facebook page for “New Mexico Oncology” had been created last year, and both the website’s IP address and phone number for the nonexistent medical center were linked to Niceta.
“It’s absurd that a former social worker entrusted to protect children maliciously attempted to tear a family apart with false accusations against another public official,” District Attorney John Kellner said in the statement. “Her actions were spiteful, vindictive, and wasted numerous county resources. I believe her nefarious conduct warrants additional time in the Department of Corrections.”
Niceta’s guilty plea did not contemplate a stipulated sentence. She will be sentenced on Jan. 17, 2025.
Jurinsky was awarded $3 million in a civil lawsuit against Niceta over the false child abuse claims.
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