Tri-Cities counselor going to prison for raping his patient in a mental hospital

A former mental health aide at Lourdes Counseling Center in Richland was sentenced to a range of 7 1/2 years in prison to life in prison after pleading guilty to raping a patient.

A Washington state review board will decide whether Arthur De Victoria can be released at any time after finishing the minimum sentence.

De Victoria had asked for a sentence of just 3 1/2 years after pleading guilty to the second-degree rape of a patient under his care who had been admitted involuntarily to the mental health facility,

He argued that the patient had seduced him into having oral sex.

But Benton County Superior Court Judge Alex Ekstrom was not persuaded by arguments that the patient was a willing participant and emphasized the predatory nature of De Victoria’s conduct, said Brandon Pang, Benton County deputy prosecutor.

The patient called 911 from Lourdes Counseling Center in July 2020 to report she had been raped by her counselor and did not feel safe staying there, according to court documents.

She told police that De Victoria had told her the day before when he was in her room that he wanted to have sex with her.

She refused, but said she had some pornography on her cellphone, hoping that would get him to leave her alone, according to prosecutors.

He demanded he give her the phone which had nude photos and videos of her, according to court documents.

He later returned to her room and said he would, “Cure the crazy out of me,” the patient told police.

She agreed to dance partially naked for him, but De Victoria demanded oral sex.

The patient, who was 23, told him that he could “get in a lot of trouble for this,” but he said the worst that would happen would be losing his job. De Victoria was then 30.

The patient agreed to the sex act, later saying that he could provide her a negative write up if she refused and she wanted positive reviews to present to the court at an upcoming hearing, according to court documents.

De Victoria demanded sex a second time after telling her to meet him in the facility’s music room.

Both times De Victoria took videos.

That night after she had gone to bed he entered her room and touched her inappropriately, according to prosecutors.

De Victoria’s attorney argued in court documents that the patient said she wanted to do something for him and wanted to make him feel good.

His attorney, Eric Eisinger, said he gave in to the patient’s repeated propositioning.

Mental health patients

“The law is understandably designed to protect residents of a mental health facility, and what Mr. De Victoria did here was not right,” he said in court documents. “But the court should take into consideration how the incident occurred.”

Prosecutors said that the patient no longer feels safe or comfortable receiving the mental health services that she needs.

“The defendant used his unique position of power to facilitate this rape,” prosecutors said in a court document. “Ultimately, the defendant abandoned his duty of care for a mentally ill patient, in pursuit of his own sexual gratification.”

The successful prosecution of this case was made possible “by the tremendous courage and strength of the victim,” and helped prevent the possible victimization of more patients, Pang said.

The Washington state Department of Health suspended De Victoria’s agency-affiliated counselor license after he was charged.

In an order suspending De Victoria’s counseling license, Health Law Judge Matthew Wareham said that the allegations constituted a gross abuse of trust and position of authority.

“It is made even more egregious when that patient is of a particularly vulnerable population, such as a psychiatric patient held on an involuntary basis,” he said.

Lourdes Health also suspended De Victoria after charges were made against him.

It said then that its top priority “is to ensure our patients receive quality care in a safe environment” and that it cooperated with the police investigation.

If he is released from prison, he will remain under supervision of the state rest of his life and could go back to prison if he violates the terms of his supervision.

This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 11:07 AM.