Washington Dept. of Health charges counselor Susan Haas with sexual relationship with client

On June 3, 2011, the Washington State Department of Health (DoH) issued a Statement of Charges against registered counselor affiliate Susan Haas, alleging unprofessional conduct and sexual misconduct.

According to the DoH’s document, between July 2009 and July 2010, Haas provided treatment services to a client who at that time residing at a transitional housing facility owned and operated by Haas’ then-employer, Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare of Lakewood, Washington.

From approximately March 2010 through March 2011, Haas is alleged to have engaged in a sexual relationship with the client.

Source: Statement of Charges in the Matter of Susan Haas, Credential No. CAAR.CG.60164845, No. M2011-157, State of Washington Department of Health, June 3, 2011.

Washington Dept. of Health charges counselor Dana Blyze with sex with client

On May 27, 2011, the Washington State Department of Health (DoH) issued a Statement of Charges against registered counselor affiliate Dana Blyzes, alleging unprofessional conduct and professional misconduct.

Specifically, sometime during November 2010, while employed as a counselor with Sunrise Community Mental Health (in Bothell, Washington), Blyzes engaged in sexual intercourse with a patient of the facility to whom she had provided treatment sessions to weekly, from September 24, 2010 to December 21, 2010.

Source: Statement of Charges in the Matter of Dana Blyzes, Credential No. CAAR. CG.60188702, No. M2011-619, State of Washington Department of Health.

 

Marriage & family therapist sentenced for possession of child porn, perjury

On June 27, 2011, marriage and family therapist Thomas Henry Ceglarek was sentenced to three years and 10 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography and perjury.  He was further sentenced to 15 years supervised released and was ordered to pay a $5000 fine and register as a sex offender.

Ceglarek admitted that he possessed two computers containing images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  He also admitted that he had falsely claimed to have been unemployed in October 2010 in order to obtain a court-appointed attorney when in fact he was then earning $70,000 a year in his position as an elementary school counselor with the San Diego School District.

Ceglarek’s marriage and family therapist license with the state of California is listed as inactive as of March 31, 2011.

Source: Susan Shroder, “Former school counselor sentenced in child-porn case,” San Diego Union-Tribune, June 27, 2011.

Wisconsin medical board reprimands psychiatrist David Israelstam…again

On June 15, 2011, the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing Medical Examining Board reprimanded psychiatrist David M. Israelstam for negligence.

According to the Board’s document, Israelstam treated a 21-year-old female patient beginning in August 2007. The patient was at that time under guardianship. He initially prescribed her the antidepressants Zoloft and Lexapro and the antipsychotics Abilify and Lamictal, the tranquilizer Restoril and the anticonvulsant Neurontin. He saw her monthly for “medication management.”

A staff member of the licensed home where the patient resided was present at each of the patient’s appointments with Israelstam. At the first appointment, Israelstam was provided with the patient’s treatment records, which showed that the patient had a history of physical and sexual abuse by her stepfather, placement in foster care at age 5, placement in a mental health center from age 8 to 10 followed by unsuccessful community placements and thereafter, continuing behavioral and emotional impairments.

Israelstam told the patient that he knew a young man who was looking for a young woman with whom to have a sexual relationship and asked if that was something that the patient would be interested in.

On January 8, 2009, the patient, accompanied by the administrator of her residential placement, had and appointment with Israelstam. At the end of the appointment, Israelstam told the patient that he knew a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome who was looking for a young woman with whom to have a sexual relationship and asked if that was something that the patient would be interested in. She said she was not and not long after she ceased seeing Israelstam due to being uncomfortable about what occurred.

Israelstam was previously reprimanded by the state in 2000, for sharing personal information with a patient about his difficulties with his mother, ex-wife and daughter, as well as making comments of a sexual nature to the patient.

Source: Final Decision and Order in the Matter of the Disciplinary Proceedings Against David M. Israelstam, M.D., Order 0000903.

Psychiatrist Lonnie Scarborough convicted, suspended on controlled substance charges

On February 3, 2011, the Georgia Composite Medical Board suspended the license of psychiatrist Lonnie T. Scarborough for not less than three months.

Scarborough was charged in December 2009 with 10 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, 10 counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance—all 21 charges involved the controlled substance Ritalin.

Scarborough reported to the Board that he had been over-prescribing the drug for his own use and sought evaluation and treatment.

On or about October 14, 2010, he pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of Chatham County (Criminal Action No. CR101515MO) to the aforementioned Ritalin-related charges and was sentenced to confinement of four years on each count concurrent, to be served on probation with terms and conditions.

Following the suspension of his license, it will placed on probation until terminated by a written order of the Board, subject to Scarborough’s compliance with numerous terms and conditions placed upon his practice and prescribing.

Source: Public Consent Order in the Matter of: Lonnie T. Scarborough, M.D., License No. 22469, Docket No. 10100032, Before the Georgia Composite Medical Board, February 3, 2011.

Counselor Brenda Hayes suspended for non-professional relationship with client.

On June 30, 2011, the Pennsylvania Department of State suspended professional counselor Brenda J. Hayes for unprofessional conduct.

According to the state’s report, Hayes failed to document the potential benefits and consequences for a former client when she entered into a counselor-client non-professional interaction with the client.

She was further ordered to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $3,000; complete 20 hours of remedial education credits relating, in aggregate, to dual relationships, dealing with difficult clients, ethics and record keeping.

Source: Disciplinary Actions report of Pennsylvania Department of State, June 2011.

Psychologist Jorge Rodriguez convicted, suspended for sexual battery on teen client

On May 19, 2011, the Virginia Board of Psychology suspended psychologist Jorge Rodriguez indefinitely, though for not less than 18 months.

According to the Board’s Order, by his own admission, On August 6, 2010, Rodriguez sexually assaulted a 19-year-old community college student who had been referred to him for neuropsychological testing to determine the cause of her difficulty mastering her school work.

Rodriguez invited the client into his office after normal business hours, purportedly to receive the results of her testing and to use his office as a quiet place to study.  Under the guise of giving the girl a massage to help her relax, took her to another office, had her lie down on a couch and proceeded to touch her in a sexual manner.

Rodriguez was charged and on March 2, 2011, he pleaded guilty to sexual battery in Fairfax County Circuit Court and was sentenced to 180 days in jail, suspended contingent upon good behavior for one year.

Source: Order in re: Jorge M. Rodriguez, Ph.D., License No. 0810-001925, Case No. 136401, Before the Board of Psychology.

Regarding Scientology

Dear Reader,

This blogger has no problem being wrongly identified as being a “front for Scientology” or otherwise associated with the Church of Scientology–in fact, it’s a compliment.

Why?

They are very effective at what they do, which is why certain psychiatrists and psychologists cry so bitterly about being “attacked by Scientology” or Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a group founded by the Church of Scientology.

I admire their work greatly (hell, I even named my blog after CCHR’s http://www.psychcrime.org) but this blog is not a property of the Church or CCHR.

You will note, if you ever visit a CCHR or Scientology website, that they are upfront about the origin of their site.  Conversely, this blog does not provide such a source because none exists.

Though I borrow amply from http://www.psychcrime.org (with their blessings), Psych Crime Reporter is an independent blog.

Some people think that if they can associate Psych Crime Reporter with Scientology that it will magically render null anything we report.  What they fail to recognize is that Psych Crime Reporter merely reprints news stories and summarizes actions issued by state health care licensing boards.

I wonder if these same knuckleheads accuse the newspapers and licensing boards of being front groups for Scientology.

Andrew William Young awaits sentencing on child porn charges; counseled children on air force base

According to the docket of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, clinical social worker Andrew William Young, who is licensed in Alaska, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to charges of sexual exploitation of a child (production and attempted production of child pornography) and receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography.

Young, a Lieutenant Commander with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, worked with children at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, until his arrest in October 2009.

According to the plea agreement signed by Young, he was identified during a 2009 police investigation.  Following up a tip that Young possessed child pornography, a detective with the Anchorage Police, using “Limewire peer-to-peer file sharing software,” downloaded videos which, upon review, were found to contain child pornography and which were traced as having come from a computer belonging to Young.

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant for Young’s house in which they seized additional child pornography dating back to 1983, including a computer hard drive containing 747 videos and 4,300 digital images of child pornography.  The amount of material removed from Young’s residence has been characterized as the largest amount of physical evidence of any single children pornography case to date.

Further analysis of other of Young’s computer hard drives revealed nude images of a boy that Young himself had photographed in his home.  The boy was located and interviewed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Officials. He identified himself in the photos and reported that Young had taken them when he was ten years old in Young’s then-home in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Authorities interviewed friends of Young’s who were stationed with him at Sheppard Air Force Base (in Wichita Falls) at the time.  Those friends reviewed sanitized versions of the photos and identified both the room in the house where they were taken and the boy.

Sentencing in the matter has been continued numerous times and is currently scheduled for July 20, 2011.

Source: Criminal Docket and Plea Agreement, USA vs. Young, Case No. 3:09-CR-00129-JWS, in the United States District Court for the District of Alaska and James Halpin, “Social worker charged with possessing child pornography,” Anchorage Daily News, October 23, 2009.

Health department files accusation against psychologist David P. Monson for accessing child porn at work

On April 28, 2011, the Washington Department of Health (DoH) issued a statement of charges against psychologist David P. Monson.

According to the DoH’s document: “Between March 3, 2008 and March 27, 2008, while employed as a psychologist at a state agency, [Monson] view pornographic web sites on his employer’s equipment during working hours.

Names of web sites that [he] viewed included “gayfirsttime.com,” “blboys.com” and “schoolboysecrets.com.”  Monson “admitted that some of the photographs on the web sites looked like minors, but maintained that the web sites were legal.”

Further, “On March 27, 2008, [Monson] spent from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm viewing pornographic web sites on his employer’s computer at his place of work.”

Monson’s employer terminated him on July 10, 2008, after completing their investigation.

Source: Statement of Charges in the Matter of David P. Monson, Credential No. PSYC.PY.00001768, No. M2009-921, State of Washington Department of Health Examining Board of Psychology, April 29, 2011.