Is 19 Years Too Short To Forgive?

When the Child & Family Services Agency in DC dismissed its director on Friday, and appointed Roque Gerald as interm director, they knew about his record. In 1989, Gerald was sued by a former patient that he’d had sex with while she was under Gerald’s care. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum of money. Now, of course, city officials looks like they have egg on their face, despite the fact that AG-nominee Peter Nickles says that Gerald came to them with this information during the selection process, according to WAMU.

Here’s the question: Since this happened almost two decades ago, and since no criminal charges were brought against Gerald, does this make any difference about his administrative role at CFSA?

Tom Bridge

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.

One thought on “Is 19 Years Too Short To Forgive?”

Interesting question. Maybe it doesn’t matter. The alleged incident took place while he was acting as a therapist, which presumably he doesn’t do in an administrative position — I mean role.

The other thing that occurs to me is that a lawsuit like this puts him in a difficult — er, between a rock and a — um, in a no win situation, whether he did the deed or not. Could he legally or ethically disclose what she said or did in therapy, even if it was to defend himself? Would he be required to consider the effect that his testifying against her, or that a protracted legal battle, would have on her mental health? Could he legally or ethically defend himself by claiming that her allegations were unreliable due to her mental illness?

It seems that an undisclosed settlement would solve a wealth of problems. Interesting also that although the patient seems to have been alleging rape (the “lack of volition” aspect), it does not appear that any criminal charges were filed or that any ethics charges were brought before the appropriate professional licensing people.

MJ on July 21, 2008 at 3:05 pm said:

Interesting question. Maybe it doesn’t matter. The alleged incident took place while he was acting as a therapist, which presumably he doesn’t do in an administrative position — I mean role.

The other thing that occurs to me is that a lawsuit like this puts him in a difficult — er, between a rock and a — um, in a no win situation, whether he did the deed or not. Could he legally or ethically disclose what she said or did in therapy, even if it was to defend himself? Would he be required to consider the effect that his testifying against her, or that a protracted legal battle, would have on her mental health? Could he legally or ethically defend himself by claiming that her allegations were unreliable due to her mental illness?

It seems that an undisclosed settlement would solve a wealth of problems. Interesting also that although the patient seems to have been alleging rape (the “lack of volition” aspect), it does not appear that any criminal charges were filed or that any ethics charges were brought before the appropriate professional licensing people.