Appeals court upholds psychologist's 3-year prison term for sex with 14-year-old patient
June 11, 2010
An appeals court has upheld the three-year prison sentence a judge handed last year to Jennifer A. Hastings, a former Rensselaer County psychologist who pleaded guilty to having sex with a 14-year-old boy she was counseling.
Hastings, 35, pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree rape and other sex abuse charges in October of 2008.
Hastings, a Sand Lake resident, was employed by the county Department of Mental Health when a court sent the boy to her for counseling in 2006. State Police began investigating her in October of the following year after a trooper found her waiting in a car outside Tamarac High School, where the boy was a freshman at the time.
When the trooper asked Hastings what she was doing, she told him she was there to pick up her brother; the trooper, however, was familiar with the boy and knew he did not have an older sister. The student later detailed sexual encounters he had with Hastings at her Sheer Road home and area motels to police.
The sex acts with the 14-year-old were not committed forcibly.
Following her arrest, Hastings was suspended without pay from her county job. She later resigned and her license to practice psychology was revoked.
Source: Dave Canfield, " Former Rensselaer County counselor to remain in jail," Troy Record, June 10, 2010.
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010/06/10/news/doc4c111a6e11b42496147405.txt
Psychiatrist Allen C. Weiss charged with assault of patient
June 11, 2010
A Milford-area psychiatrist was arrested Wednesday morning on assault and unlawful imprisonment charges after one of his patients accused him of holding her in his office against her will.
The 28-year-old patient who accused Dr. Allen C. Weiss, 64, of assaulting her told police that she had gone for a new patient appointment to his office in the 100 block of Russell Road. According to court papers, the woman spoke with Weiss about her mental health condition and said that she was interrupted when his phone rang. When Weiss hung up the phone, he yelled, cursed and started biting and chewing on his own hand, the woman alleged in court papers.
He calmed down briefly but became upset again, leading her to walk toward the door in fear. Weiss had been yelling about "three letters and losing his license," the woman told investigators.
Weiss grabbed her by the arm and called her a junkie, according to court papers. The two yelled at each other and struggled for a short time before she broke free and run away, police said.
When Weiss spoke to police, he told them the woman was trying to get him to prescribe painkillers and that when he refused, there was an altercation. The woman also had a scratch on the side of her neck, which she claimed Weiss caused. The woman also alleged Weiss took off his belt and unbuttoned his pants, police said.
Weiss was charged and released on unsecured bond.
Source: Ira Porter, "Delaware crime: Psychiatrist charged in assault on new patient," The News Journal, June 11, 2010.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100611/NEWS01/6110339/Psychiatrist-charged-in-assault-on-new-patient
UK psychiatrist Malcolm Darley suspended 6 months; solicited prostitute
June 11, 2010
Psychiatrist Malcolm Darley was suspended today for six months after a UK General Medical Council (GMC) hearing, in which it was revealed he'd been prosecuted for "kerb crawling" [UK slang for "driving slowly by at the curb, soliciting sex from prostitutes or other women"].
The consultant worked at Arundel House, a mental health unit in Wavertree, and also cared for acute in-patients at the Broadoak Unit, in Broadgreen.
He was dismissed from mental health trust Mersey Care in January last year.
Darley, now of Wallings Lane, Silverdale, Carnforth, after moving from his home in Southport, was cleared in June last year at Liverpool Crown Court of having indecent images of children on his computer.
But on April 19, 2008, while he was living in Southport, Darley was arrested and later fined for kerb crawling. He also gave a false name to the police and lied to his employers. The suspension, imposed on Tuesday, will come into effect in 28 days.
Darley currently works as a locum consultant psychiatrist specialising in old age psychiatry, but it is not thought he operates in Merseyside.
The panel’s conclusions added: “You outlined the steps you are taking to address your behaviour and gain an understanding of why you acted in the way you did.”
Source: Liza Williams, "Kerb crawling psychiatrist suspended by General Medical Council," Southport Visitor, June 11, 2010.
http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/southport-news/southport-southport-news/2010/06/11/kerb-crawling-psychiatrist-suspended-by-general-medical-council-101022-26630398/
