A state senator is calling for the resignation of the executive director of the Minnesota Board of Chiropractic Examiners after the two exchanged heated letters about a former chiropractor who pleaded guilty to rape charges.
Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, said this week he initially contacted the board in August to express concerns about Paul D. Thompson's history of sexual misconduct with female clients, which was known to the board as early as 1990. Despite multiple allegations against Thompson and a failure on his part to abide by a probationary condition set by the board, he was allowed to practice until he was charged in May with raping a client.
The response by Dr. Larry Spicer, the board's executive director, was so "inappropriate," Marty said in a September letter, that Spicer must resign if the board is going to take sexual assault seriously.
Marty said Tuesday that when he first wrote the board Aug. 27, he simply wanted "some reassurance" from Spicer that what happened in May wouldn't happen again. Instead, he said, Spicer's response made him feel that the board wasn't going to review its practices.
"That's letting a potentially very dangerous system go unchecked," Marty said.
Marty wrote another letter on Sept. 24 calling for Spicer's resignation and alerting Gov. Mark Dayton and Attorney General Lori Swanson.
The board is a state entity with members appointed by the governor's office. The board hires its staff, including the executive director. Spicer has worked for the board for more than 21 years.
"I am perplexed and dismayed that a senator, who is sworn to uphold the constitution, would threaten the livelihood of a citizen simply for exercising his constitutional right to free speech," Spicer said this week in response to Marty's demand. He declined further comment.
The heated exchange between Marty and Spicer began when the father of the woman raped by Thompson contacted Marty's office this summer.
Marty wrote the board, expressing disappointment with Spicer's comments in a July Star Tribune article about the board's discipline of Thompson.
"The board's response that revisiting past mistakes is 'not a fair question' is grossly insensitive …," Marty wrote in the Aug. 27 letter.
A week later, Spicer wrote Marty defending the board's process and history with Thompson, who pleaded guilty in August to raping the client at his Little Canada practice.
Marty said that in addition to ignoring questions in his August letter, Spicer seemed to blame the woman's father, who is one of Marty's constituents.
"… the Board is at a loss to determine what outcome, if any, this constituent would find acceptable," Spicer wrote. He added that the board doesn't condone Thompson's actions, and that it was "unreasonable" to predict his crime based on his past.
"It must be emphasized, that the holding of a license is a property right, essentially no different than a persons [sic] ownership of their home," Spicer wrote. "For the government to rescind the holders [sic] right to that property, there must be significant compelling interest, supported by substantial evidence …"
Records show that the board placed Thompson on probation in 1991 and 2005 for inappropriate conduct with "several" female patients and a female employee. He was licensed in Minnesota in 1984.
Spicer provided Marty more details in his letter.
"Inappropriate touching in this [1991] case included hugging patients (a practice often engaged in in those days, but which tends to be discouraged today), and kissing a patient (O.K. … there is no explanation for that!)," Spicer wrote.
Similar allegations were levied against Thompson in the early 2000s, Spicer wrote. The board revoked Thompson's license in June because of the rape case.
Board chair Dr. Ralph Stouffer wrote Marty late last month that the board would review Thompson's case and Spicer's conduct. Stouffer said this week he couldn't say anything because the issue is a personnel matter.
Marty, meanwhile, said this week that the board needs training from experts like the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
"It should have never happened because we know enough about sexual violence to see how predatory behavior can escalate in many cases," Marty said of the May rape.
Donna Dunn, executive director of the coalition, commended the woman's father for his actions.
"Any provider who is working in a situation like that has to be absolutely crystal clear about boundaries … and any oversight power needs to work continuously to ensure that the patients and clients of any profession are well protected," Dunn said.
Thompson, 54, of Vadnais Heights, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 20.
Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708
Twitter: @ChaoStrib
