California military base psychologist accused of rape
A clinical psychologist who treated military veterans with post-traumatic stress has been charged with raping female service members who were in therapy as victims of sex assaults, officials said Tuesday.
Heath J. Sommer was ordered Monday to stand trial on three felony sexual assault charges after authorities said he targeted female service members in 2014 and 2015 while working at Travis Air Force Base’s David Grant Medical Center, about 50 miles (85 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.
Sommer was arrested earlier this month and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His attorney, Thomas Maas, did not return telephone messages seeking comment. Maas told the judge at a hearing Monday in Fairfield, California, that the sex was consensual, according to The Daily Republic newspaper. Maas said his client had not committed a crime and the actions were part of his therapy work.
Prosecutors allege the 41-year-old psychologist used a technique called exposure therapy and would ask the women to have sex with him, leaving them “even more traumatized.”
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