(AP) — The head of training at the Hawaiʻi Department of Public Safety pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges accusing her of lying about her educational background.

Public Training Officer J. Marte Martinez pleaded not guilty to perjury, tampering with a government record and unsworn falsification to authorities, according to her attorney Birney Bervar.

Trial is set for June, Bervar said, declining to comment on the allegations.

A complaint filed in court said Martinez made false statements about her educational background while testifying under oath before the Hawaiʻi Labor Relations Board.  The alleged false statements included having a liberal arts degree from a Virginia university.

Martinez is also accused of submitting a transcript to the public safety department purported to be from an Oregon university, “which was falsely made, completed, or altered,” the complaint said.

When applying for positions in the public safety department, she submitted an application that contained “statements about her educational background that she did not believe to be true,” the complaint said.

The Department of Public Safety oversees Hawaiʻi’s jail and prisons, along with law enforcement divisions, including sheriffs.

 

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