Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The Innocents

A third child, a 5-year-old, comes forward to accuse psychologist Jerry Lazaroff of improper and illegal touching. The charges sound a little thin. And the case is starting to sound more and more like "The Children's Hour."

Two girls, 5 and 7, were interviewed by police after they complained to an adult known to both of them and police were contacted.

The 7 year-old is more of a witness to what happened to the 5 year-old, says DA Mike Gallantino. More accusations of behind tapping and improper "tickling."

Lazaroff, in part, invited these suspicions by engaging in some sort of "play therapy" that wasn't witnessed by others.

But some of the accusations seem to turn on interpretation and possibly misunderstanding. In addition, it is and extremely rare for anyone to be attracted to both little boys and pre-pubescent girls. The second child to come (or to be dragged) forward is a 7-year old boy.

In any case, Lazaroff's career, if not his life, is ruined. Let's all hope that he is not only found guilty, but that he is truly guilty of the charges against him. And that this isn't a case of grown-ups overreacting to the whimsies of children.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm glad you are staying on top of this story, Gil. Something doesn't add up to me. Play therapy requires physical contact and I'm not if Lazaroff crossed the line. I wonder if some of the parents aren't smelling a lawsuit against Lazaroff and the county.

June 4, 2008 at 11:17 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with the other poster that these stories don't add up (especially those that arose after the initial complaint). On the other hand, I have to wonder why an intelligent professional, who practices a type of therapy requiring physical contact with children -- in this over-litigious era -- wouldn't take the precaution of taping sessions (for his AND the patient's protection).
None of us really knows what happened, but let's hope the system works to resolve this case justly.

June 5, 2008 at 11:03 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This whole thing is a freakish mess. Even if this guy was indeed just practicing “tickle therapy” -or what it is called- this is just Lib Psych horsecrap. And he admitted to touching the one child’s private areas –repeatedly! How the F can he justify that?? No way. Off with the pervert's head!

June 5, 2008 at 11:22 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks again for staying on top of this story. I agree with the above poster that these parents are smelling a lawsuit and getting greedy. Those charges are ridiculous - especially the latest! Not to mention -Lazaroff was involved in custody evaluations with the (alleged) victims' parents. With custody evaluations, there's a 50/50 chance that one parent will be unhappy with the outcome. Seems like the unhappy ones are jumping on the bandwagon to get revenge in their own sick way. I hope Lazaroff gets his day in court so we can see exactly what happened - all we have thus far are the affidavits creatively written and signed by the cops...

June 7, 2008 at 4:41 PM 

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