A Santa Clara County jury has awarded a Bay Area woman $3.5 million after finding she was impregnated by a counselor while receiving treatment at a San Jose rehab facility. The plaintiff, identified in court only as Jane Doe, testified that she checked into the program for alcohol detox in 2021 and was paired with a staffer who was not credentialed to provide one-on-one counseling.
Doe told jurors that the counselor, referred to at trial as “John Smith,” began having regular sexual encounters with her during supposed counseling sessions, which led to an unplanned pregnancy and a relapse, according to NBC Bay Area. Court testimony included the counselor stating that a supervisor had asked him to serve in a counselor role even though he had not completed the hours needed for a credential. Doe’s husband reported the conduct to the program, and the counselor was later fired, according to the same outlet.
Verdict and Damages
A civil jury found both Support Systems Homes and the counselor negligent and returned a $3.5 million verdict. The plaintiff’s attorneys say the jury awarded $1.5 million for past emotional distress and $2.0 million for future emotional distress, per a press release from the plaintiff’s lawyers at Hooshmand Law Group. The attorneys said the unanimous 12-0 decision signaled jurors saw serious failures in how the treatment center supervised and trained staff.
Facility Background and Oversight
Support Systems Homes is owned by Robert Norton, and the lawsuit accused the program of understaffing and mismanagement that allowed an uncertified staffer to meet with patients alone. The facility’s own website describes residential care and says clients are matched with credentialed counselors, a policy the suit claims was not followed. The site lists residential, outpatient and detox services on its treatment pages, according to Support Systems Homes.
Court filings and reporting also describe a 2022 state inquiry that flagged the program for allowing “unprofessional” conduct on site, according to NBC Bay Area. For a facility tasked with helping people at their lowest point, that kind of finding is not exactly a confidence booster.
Law and Legal Context
California law bars sexual contact between therapists or counselors and current clients, and the Department of Consumer Affairs booklet “Therapy Never Includes Sexual Behavior” states that such conduct is unethical and may be illegal, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs. The case, however, resulted in a civil verdict, not a criminal conviction…