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Sexual Predators are Found in too Many Places...

     by Dixie A. Walter
     My View
     July 7, 2005

     By now most of the world has seen the heartrending surveillance video tape of tiny, eight-year-old Shasta Groene hugging herself and looking beseechingly into the faces of customers at a convenience store near Kellogg, Idaho. This tape was taken a day before the abducted child was finally recognized at a Denny's restaurant,  and rescued July 2 from the grasp of convicted sex offender Joseph Duncan III. The child had undergone a horrendous six-weeks of sexual abuse by Duncan. 
     She and her nine-year-old brother, Dylan, were kidnapped from Coeur D'Alene, Idaho May 16. Dylan, who was also sexually abused, is believed to be dead. *Human remains found earlier have not yet been positively identified as being Dylan. The identification of the remains probably won't be available until next week. Authorities believe Duncan may be also be responsible for the deaths of Shasta's mother, older brother and her mother's boyfriend who were found bound and beaten to death May 16.
     Duncan began his life of perversion in Tacoma when he was in his mid-teens. In 1990 the state Legislature passed an involuntary commitment law for violent sexual predators which could have been used in an attempt to keep Duncan locked up. However, when he was released from prison in 2000 he was evaluated and authorities maintained they didn't find enough data that he would reoffend.
      The state failed Shasta Groene and her family. The state, which had the tools, should have protected society  from Duncan who made it clear on a Web site that he was going to do great harm to "society." The state must also be charged with protecting children, as well as other at risk citizens, from hidden predators as well as convicted and registered sex offenders. Hidden predators can be teachers, doctors, ministers, priests, counselors and mental health professionals to name a few.
      On a happier note, Eatonville presently has only one registered sex offender within the town limits, down from six a year or so ago. This person, a man in his mid-forties, shows up on the Pierce County Sheriff's Sex Offenders site within a half mile of Curtis Lane on the east side of town. He is listed as a Level 1 offender whose crimes are "Child rape 1" and "Child rape 2." Level 1 offenders are categorized as presenting the lowest risk to the community. For those living outside the town limits please see  Pierce County Known Registered Sex/Kidnapping Offenders - click "I agree," then "Neighborhood Search." From there you can enter street names and find if a sex offender is in your neighborhood.
      Sadly, in many cases the state does not succeed in keeping vulnerable individuals out of harm's way. For a case in point please read Elect Davenport's article below about how the State of Washington Department of Health once again failed to protect citizens from a "professional predator."

     *July 11, 2005: The human remains found at a remote campsite have been identified through DNA as those of nine-year-old Dylan Groene.

Professional Predators
The Quiet Sexual Assault...

                by Electa Davenport
                     July 8, 2005

      Almost daily news headlines showcase a story about an abducted child, an abusive parent, a rape victim… they shine a bright light on the action – the violent crime. Yet there is an equally insidious group of sexual predators among us. They are hidden among our most trusted; our pastors, our doctors, and even our counselors – the people you trust the most to care for your well-being.  These offenders are seldom caught and even less seldom punished by the same standard as the street criminal. When they are discovered, their crimes are often viewed as “white collar” and the State’s vengeance is softer for them.
       It is so; the world today is a dangerous place for many – particularly for children and vulnerable women. The Internet; replete with its chat-rooms, URL links to hard-core and child pornography, on-line dating services, and even email (with its unwelcome attachments), offers the sexual predator boundless tools for the exploitation of children and emotionally vulnerable adults.  
      Although it may be personally abhorrent to some, there is an established right to the access and use of pornography (porn) by and between mature and like-minded adults. However, that said, there is no imaginable, justified, or permitted use of child-pornography (kiddy porn).  
      Clearly and simply, child-pornography is a sexually predatory and exploitative behavior and act. Equally clear and compelling should be our commitment to insist, and insure, that the vulnerable populations are protected and the offenders prosecuted. Some of the ways and means to accomplish this are already available, yet others need development, refinement, and adequate resources.

"Kiddy Porn" has a Demographic

      Porn and “kiddy porn” does have a demographic – men, particularly single, secular men. And they lurk hidden within this broad demographic spectrum spanning the socio-economic continuum. Although the predominance of offenders is single men, there is a growing connection to the “industry” by women, married/involved men and their wives or partners. There is also a particularly heinous crowd of these predators that pray on the emotionally weak and vulnerable population – counselors, the clergy, doctors, and mental health care professionals.
     Take for a moment, and as an example, the professional mental health provider or counselor who is also a predator. These “professionals” use their positions of trust and their skill-sets as tools to pry into the lives and bodies of the emotionally weak and uncertain. They typically target women and children.  
     They are the professional “care givers” we customarily view as safe havens… trusted retreats and respites from the turmoil of domestic abuse, a dissolving marriage, a loss, harassment at work. Many of these “clients” or patients are separately or additionally weakened by substance abuse, and/or some form of mental defect such as eating or bi-polar disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), etc.  
     The patients of these providers are quietly and systematically “groomed” – that is prepared for the sexual predation, use, and control that follows. The jokes and adages about the psychiatrist’s couch are anything but an urban myth – they are unfortunately, and all too often, a conventional and contemporary reality. 
      It is not uncommon that the used, and abused, victim does not even realize what has happened – maybe ever! So skilled and systematic are these predators, that often, and even in the face of discovery and evidence, their victims will defend and protect their very abuser.  Some of the groomed victims are deceptively introduced to hard-core and child pornography as part of a “therapeutic process.”  

Sex Acts Described as "Therapy"

     Others are quietly and systematically coerced into performing sex acts with their professional provider, also described as “therapy.” Then there are the under-considered and often forgotten fodder made up from among the others...those that also suffer secondary impacts from the victimization of their loved ones – they include the husbands, the children, and the families.
     The examples are not that hard to find and there is recent case in Washington State that should serve as an example, one that should certainly raise our level of concern. That case involves Gregory E. Pritchett, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. Pritchett lives in Sumner and he practices in Renton.  
     About seventy-five percent of his client census is made up of women and children. And, his license to practice was recently suspended indefinitely by the State of Washington Department of Health (DOH) for “Unprofessional Conduct.” In this (his) case, it was for emailing child pornography to his clients.  
     Some of the other claims, charges, and complaints filed against Pritchett were for using sex as a therapeutic tool, the sharing of private patient records, and providing/dispensing prescription drugs without a license. Pritchett’s file remains active with at least one complaint still under investigation by the Department of Health. As irony would have it, he even advised the Court regarding the disposition of sexual offenders!
     As part of the plea bargain (known as an Agreed Order) he struck with the State, Pritchett was required to comply with certain provisions. Some of these include: notifying his clients of his suspension and the reasons for it, immediate cessation of his practice, prohibition on accepting any new patients, that he pay a $5,000 fine, that he undergo a comprehensive psychological evaluation and treatment program focusing on the issues of “sexual misconduct,” and that he pay the State for all costs associated with his disciplinary action.  To date, he has not complied with most of these requirements.
     Probably because Pritchett and the State agreed on the conditions of his disciplinary action, the State did not to prosecute him for an act that was clearly a felony. The evidence was compelling that he accessed hard-core pornographic Web sites, that he captured images clearly violating federal and state laws (including child pornography), and that he emailed some of these kiddy-porn images to at least one client. 

State and Federal Laws Violated

     He, in essence, admitted to violating State and Federal laws – he, in fact, committed a felony and escaped prosecution. You will not find him on the sexual offender notification list. He avoided that simply by reaching an understanding with the State…an understanding that, by the way, provides a return path to his profession!
     It can easily be argued that he (or his ilk) may present a higher risk to a vulnerable population than the predator lurking in a back alley. The State should at least take it upon itself to provide his patients with a copy of the Order since Pritchett (although he was required to) has not. This will at least allow them to reexamine the effectiveness and methodology of their counseling and treatment programs and to consider their own options or actions. Many of his patients were probably left with an unexplained interruption of needed and important treatment.
     Then there is the issue of the court’s prior dependence on Pritchett for the disposition of cases involving sexual predators, child custody hearings, drug use, etc. You would think the State would be troubled about the past services and recommendations he made to the courts and various state and private programs. That those recommendations and professional opinions were used to help adjudicate or focus treatment should be an issue of serious concern.
     Legislation should be promoted that will further strengthen the licensing and license review requirements of/for counselors in general and mental health counselors in specific. Pritchett, as a poster case-in-point, certainly serves as a good example for the need for legislative reform. At a minimum, licensed providers found culpable of these predatory acts should have their license permanently revoked.
     Anyone thinking of using a mental health counselor should look to the State for information before making a selection. The Department of Health provides a Web site through which you can “check up” on your provider to help you make an informed decision – if you intend to use one.
     The records regarding the example provided in this article may be viewed at the Department of Health Web site. Simply go to this link  Licensed Mental Health Counselor - WA State Dept. of Health Click on "Provider Credential Search" and enter Pritchett's credential number - LH00004046 - or his name.
     You will be taken to a summary page and from there click on “View Action Reports.” For a complete set of the legal documents, follow the links provided on the DOH site.  And if you wish additional detail; there are well over 800 pages of material available through a public records request disclosure process.  

     For more information please see ZielkeLaw.com: Sexual Misconduct by Doctors