Woman seeks penalty for therapist who molested her.

A Horror Story in which a woman cannot get her justice against the psych who molested her

GREENSBORO NC -- On the surface, it appeared to be a case against all odds: a woman who suffered from mental illness and said she had 80 personalities suing a respected therapist and college professor and challenging the state board assigned to watch over him.

Even the lawyer who took Angela Spell's case originally had trouble believing her claim: From 1996 to 1999, Greensboro psychotherapist and licensed nurse Daniel Longenecker had sexually exploited her. And the N.C. Board of Nursing had taken no disciplinary action in response to her complaint.

But Spell's story never changed -- that Longenecker had sex with her, that he made her eat feces, that he confessed their relationship to a friend of Spell's, that the nursing board never interviewed her for its investigation. The deeper attorney Phyllis Lile-King looked, the more convinced she became that Spell was telling the truth. Spell won her lawsuit when a jury found Longenecker liable for violating a state law called the Psychotherapist-Patient Sexual Exploitation Act

Now Spell is taking on another fight: trying to convince the nursing board about her allegation that it has a sexual predator in its midst. Seven months after Spell won a $176,000 civil court judgment against Longenecker, neither the N.C. Board of Nursing nor UNCG, where he teaches nursing, has done anything to limit his professional contact with the public. A nursing-board official says there was no credible evidence of Spell's claim in 2000, when she filed her first complaint. Since that time, Spell won her court victory, and, along with her current therapist, filed a new complaint urging a new investigation. But Donna Mooney, the board's director of discipline, said that the board's position hasn't changed.

She said the board takes all complaints seriously. But she wouldn't discuss details of its investigation or whether investigators contacted Spell, who said she was never interviewed about the complaint.

UNCG hasn't launched an investigation either. A lawyer for UNCG said the school won't discipline Longenecker -- who didn't return numerous phone calls -- unless the nursing board takes action. So, Longenecker continues to teach. One of his classes this semester concerns treating patients with psychosocial problems. He continues to supervise students working as interns. And he continues to have UNCG's permission to treat psychotherapy patients in his office on campus -- permission the university could withdraw at any time. UNCG attorney Skip Capone called Longenecker an exemplary faculty member who has received good evaluations from students and no complaints of wrongdoing. Because Spell isn't a student and because the exploitation that was the subject of the lawsuit didn't take place on campus, there's little the university can do, he said.

Spell, who lives in Trinity, wonders whether anyone will punish Longenecker. She fears he will harm others if someone doesn't discipline him. "He has issues he needs to deal with before he treats patients who have psychiatric diseases," said Spell, 45, who agreed to let the News & Record publish her name.

Longenecker's attorney said last week that he will try to appeal the jury's verdict, even though the deadline for filing an appeal passed in September. Randy James of Winston-Salem said he will ask the N.C. Court of Appeals for a provisional appeal because Longenecker's previous lawyer let the deadline pass. James said Longenecker strongly denies Spell's claims. "She has a history of (medical) issues herself," James said. "There's nothing else in his background to suggest these allegations are true."

The jury ruled unanimously that Spell was entitled to $60,000 for sexual exploitation, $16,000 for personal injury and $100,000 in punitive damages. The jury agreed, however, that she didn't suffer severe emotional distress. Spell has seen none of the money. Longenecker's malpractice insurer, the Chicago Insurance Company, says it isn't responsible for the verdict because his policy doesn't cover sexual abuse.

If the insurance company doesn't pay, Lile-King said she will try to collect the money from Longenecker.

Spell and Lile-King say no one representing the board has contacted them. Neither woman is satisfied that the board has taken the complaint seriously or that the board has properly investigated the original complaint, filed in 2000. The board closed the case without taking action. Spell insists she never was interviewed by investigators.

Despite Spell's frustrations that no one has punished Longenecker, she said she's the healthiest and happiest she has been in years. She's working as a pharmacy clerk in a drug store, and though she has maintained her nursing license, she's taking a refresher course to catch up on medical developments in the 12 years since she practiced.