An Iowa therapist accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old kid claims to have a “long history” of complaints about his behavior, despite the fact that there is no public record of any licensing sanctions against him.
On May 30, O’Brien County prosecutors charged Sibley-based therapist Martin W. Wallace, 75, with two felonies: second-degree sexual assault and sexual exploitation by a therapist. Wallace was also charged with a misdemeanor offense: lewd activities with a kid.
According to authorities, Wallace had inappropriate contact with a 13-year-old boy patient several times inside his Sheldon office, including placing a vibrating toothbrush in the child’s pants, kissing the kid, and pulling down the child’s pants and underwear. Sheldon police further claim that during a May 16 search of the office, Wallace was asked to provide information relating to the claimed victim’s treatment and directed officers to a different set of records pertaining to the alleged victim’s brother.
Two MEN CHARGED With Attempted MURDER and ASSAULT After 11-year-old Shot in Allentown
During the search, police said they left Wallace alone in a treatment room and then heard the sound of a shredder operating inside. Officers interrupted and asked Wallace what he had just shredded, to which he allegedly responded, “I don’t know, it was just a paper from the desk.”
Days later, a former intern at the therapy office allegedly alerted police about data on a computer that differed from those Wallace had provided to police. The intern also stated that Wallace deployed video cameras in the workplace, which Wallace allegedly denied during the initial search.
Based on the new evidence, police conducted a second search of the office and uncovered two cameras, including one described by cops as a “very small, magnetic hidden camera stuck to a lamp in the corner of the patient room.”
During the same search, officers asked Wallace for his cell phone, which he claimed to have left at home. According to court records, Wallace left the premises and approached his vehicle, which was parked outside the office. Police said they witnessed Wallace remove his phone and seized the device, which was displaying communications that seemed to be sexual in nature.
Houston Horror: TWO ARRESTED in Capital MURDER CASE of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray
According to police records, Wallace had previously been accused of wrongdoing, but there is no public record of state licensing officials taking any action against him before to his arrest. In a written correspondence with the court, one of the Sheldon police officers participating in the inquiry stated that he had reviewed a “investigative report” from the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, which oversees the state’s licensing boards. The report addressed previous accusations concerning Wallace’s actions.
“Wallace has a long history of complaints about boundary issues with clients,” Sheldon Police Sgt. Eric Meinecke informed the court. “Some notable complaints involved an intern in 2012 seeing an image of two naked men on Wallace’s work computer at the Creative Living Center; Wallace and a client being seen lying on the floor together in 2017; numerous complaints about Wallace’s communication with clients outside of business hours; and a report of Wallace using cameras in the Creative Living Center, hidden and without permission.”
Wallace spent 13 years as a school counselor for the Sibley-Ocheyedan School District before joining the Creative Living Center team.
On June 6, one week after Wallace’s criminal charges were filed, the Iowa Board of Behavioral Science issued an emergency order suspending his license and charged him with sexual misconduct with a patient.
A hearing on the board’s charges is planned for July 30. Wallace just pleaded not guilty in his criminal case. A trial date has yet to be set.
Source: telegraphherald