Thursday, June 15, 2006

Psychologist's License Suspended

In this news time that slipped between the cracks (go to the 2nd story):

The Michigan Department of Community Health has suspended the license of an Ann Arbor psychologist who faces federal charges of traveling to another state to molest an 11-year-old girl.

Dr. Charles Bruce Fraelich, who has an office in Livonia, remains jailed in Atlanta, where authorities said he went believing he was going to engage in sex acts with an 11-year-old girl and her mother.

The state community health department announced this week that it suspended Fraelich's license to practice. An administrative hearing will be scheduled to address the status of his license.

A federal grand jury indicted the 58-year-old man last month on charges of aggravated sexual abuse of children and traveling interstate for illegal sexual activity. Fraelich has a routine pretrial conference scheduled in Atlanta, but no trial date has been set, according to the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Northern Georgia.

Federal documents charged that Fraelich began communicating with the undercover agent in late February through a chat room called "openminded mom'' and believed he was speaking with a 33-year-old mother with an 11-year-old daughter. He repeatedly and explicitly described sex acts he wanted to engage in with the young girl and made arrangements to visit them in Atlanta, the documents allege.

Fraelich was arrested in late April outside the restaurant where he had made arrangements to meet the mother and daughter. Fraelich said in court that he had a practice in Livonia and treated patients of all ages, including children.

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