A Tomah Department of Veterans Affairs employee responsible for counseling inpatient female veterans in the PTSD and substance abuse units has just been jailed over multiple sexual assault allegations, according to reports received by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
An internal public affairs memo corroborates those reports, though the exact nature of the behavior was not mentioned, nor was an employee named.
Reports indicate that the employee was likely a mental health peer support specialist who allegedly forced oral sex on one woman and exposed his penis to two other women. Other potential victims are coming forward now that word has spread around the facility of the booking in the Monroe County jail. In total, the suspect faces seven charges, though exactly what those charges are at this point is unclear.
“This issue has not hit the press yet but we expect it to gain attention fairly soon,” Matthew Gowan, public affairs officer at the Tomah VA, told facility employees over email. Gowan then included a statement from the acting director at the facility regarding the incident.
“Employees, there has been an unfortunate incident in our medical center,” the statement reads. “I wanted you to be aware in an effort to be transparent and foster trust. A Tomah VA Medical Center Mental Health Peer Support Specialist was arrested yesterday and booked into the Monroe County Jail. The employee faces seven charges and was arraigned in Monroe County Court this afternoon.”
According the statement, a veteran reported an incident regarding the peer support specialist Dec. 31, which is when officials began looking into the allegations. Following a quick investigation, “The employee was immediately placed on Administrative Absence and removed from clinical care duties.”
The acting director added that a VA police investigation is ongoing.
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