NY suspends Liverpool massage therapist who choked woman - Syracuse.com

[massage]

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Liverpool man convicted of choking a woman will be able to keep his massage therapist license even though the state Education Department said it would be dangerous to let him continue working.

The state Board of Regents, which oversees the Education Department, voted on March 13 to suspend Robert J. Miccoli's massage therapy license for three months after finding him guilty of professional misconduct. The Education Department, which licenses massage therapists, recommended his license be revoked.

He was charged with professional misconduct after pleading guilty to criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, a misdemeanor, in 2015 in East Syracuse Village Court. Miccoli, 34, was originally charged with first-degree rape, but that felony charge was later dismissed, court records show. The court sentenced him to three years probation and fined him $500.

Miccoli told syracuse.com he was falsely accused of rape and has a good record as a massage therapist.

The Education Department, in a letter to the Board of Regents, said Miccoli " ... working alone, unsupervised and in contact with unclothed clients would be a threat to the public ... ."

But a Regents review committee opted for a less severe penalty because it said Miccoli had an otherwise unblemished professional and criminal record, was not sentenced to jail and is of low risk to commit another offense.

The committee said even though it takes a serious view of Miccoli's misconduct, "which amounted to sexual violence against a woman," it believes he can be rehabilitated.

The incident that led to Miccoli's arrest occurred Dec. 3, 2011 after he and a female acquaintance returned to his home following a night out at a Syracuse bar where they both drank beer and shots of rum, court records show.

The woman told police she passed out and when she woke up on Miccoli's bed, he had his hand around her throat and was having nonconsensual sex with her. Miccoli told police he didn't remember what happened.

The incident occurred about six months before Miccoli was licensed as a massage therapist. But the state took disciplinary action against Miccoli because he was convicted after obtaining a license.

Licensed health professionals in New York are automatically charged with professional misconduct if convicted of a crime.

Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index....on_nurses_and_other_health_professionals.html

Let's block ads! (Why?)