Saturday, October 28, 2006

Another Psychologist pleads guilty in sexual assault case

We have this report from Colorado

A psychologist accused of molesting a mentally disabled patient at a local care center has pled guilty.

Donald Fish, a former psychotherapist at Foothills Gateway, accepted a plea bargain agreement and pled guilty this morning at the Larimer County courthouse to sexually assaulting an at-risk adult and causing bodily injury to three others.

Fish was charged with three counts of sexually assaulting a patient and of causing bodily injury to three others between October 2005 and January 2006.

He pled guilty to only one felony count of assault on a female patient, which occurred between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15 this year, while the two other counts were dismissed. He also pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of causing bodily injury to three women at the center, which occurred in October 2005.

As part of the deal, Fish agreed to register as a sex offender, undergo treatment and submit to genetic testing. He is also prohibited from working again as a therapist and from having contact with children or the victims in the case.

Fish’s case, represented by attorney Andy Gavaldon, was otherwise set for a jury trial in late November.

He faces penalties of $100,000 in fines and one month to three years at the state penitentiary for the Class 6 felony count of sexual assault, as well as a $5,000 fine and up to 24 months at the Larimer County Detention Center for the bodily injury misdemeanor.

Fish is free on bond until his sentencing hearing in January.

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