Therapist Quits Amid Allegations Sex-Abuse Accusations Started Piling Up 1985

It’s been more than a decade since the first woman told state medical cops a Spokane physical therapist sexually abused her.

The state Board of Physical Therapy got its second complaint in 1987, from a woman who said the therapist abused her, too.

Another complaint surfaced later that same year, when a patient accused the therapist, Vern W. Jenkins, of having sex with her.

A fourth woman said Jenkins touched her genital area in November 1991. Woman No. 5, who was several months pregnant, said Jenkins also fondled her genital area.

And a sixth patient said Jenkins massaged and fondled her breast in 1994.

Through it all, Jenkins, now 42, continued seeing patients at his Sixth Avenue clinic.

He lost his license to practice just last December, when he signed an agreement with the state physical therapy board to give it up for at least five years rather than face a hearing.

Jenkins didn’t admit guilt and still denies all the allegations. He’s never been charged criminally.

“It’s pretty obvious this guy used his professional license to violate all these women,” said Michael Walker, an attorney for one of them.

But how did Jenkins manage to keep his license all those years, since the Board of Physical Therapy first began investigating him in 1985, asks one of his accusers.

And why, she wants to know, did doctors continue sending their patients to him, despite the pattern of complaints? One woman he was accused of abusing is appalled state health officials already had complaints of sexual misconduct when she was sent to Jenkins for therapy.

“He shouldn’t have even been in business,” she said. “It’s like they put him on this little, special shelf and say, ‘You can do anything you want.’ And they push these women aside.”

At least one health insurance company had Jenkins on its list of care providers until the day he lost his license.

Medical Services Corp. became aware of complaints against Jenkins years ago, said John Carlson, a senior vice president at MSC. But the therapist stayed on the roster because he remained licensed and wasn’t convicted of wrongdoing.

“Given that it’s a free country, you can’t kick people out of your plan when there’s no convictions,” said MSC spokeswoman Cher Desautel.

If the women had complained directly to MSC, the insurer would have started an internal investigation, said Carlson. But none of them did.

Carol Neva, a manager for the physical therapy board, says the state did everything it could to safeguard the public in an expensive, frustrating case.

Once, the case was mired in court when Jenkins appealed a board decision to revoke his license in 1993. A judge ruled the therapy board botched its hearing process and taxpayers ended up paying $16,292 for Jenkins’ legal fees.

“It was frustrating it took so long to get this guy out of there,” said Walker. “We knew there were multiple victims, but the state process took a long time.”

Jenkins did not return calls for comment. His attorney, Harold Clarke III, said Jenkins sold his practice, Sixth Avenue Physical Therapy, a month ago and didn’t want to talk.

“Until we entered into the agreement (to surrender his license), Mr. Jenkins wasn’t prepared to withdraw from the practice because he doesn’t agree with the allegations against him,” Clarke said.

At least two of the women, including Walker’s client, took separate civil action against Jenkins.

Both settled out of court for money, and one agreed not to discuss the case unless subpoenaed.

The state Board of Physical Therapy, which licenses and investigates therapists, first took action against Jenkins after three women complained he abused them.

One patient said he inserted his finger in her vagina during a 1985 office visit, said Neva, the therapy board manager. Another said that in July 1986 and January 1987, Jenkins inappropriately touched her breasts and put his finger in her vagina.

Investigators then learned of the third case, in which a woman said Jenkins had sex with her during the summer of 1985.

Armed with testimony from the three women, the therapy board issued administrative charges in December 1987. Jenkins denied the allegations, but he settled the complaint in April 1988 by agreeing to have his practice monitored for three years.

The monitoring included random office inspections and unannounced visits. He also agreed to have an adult woman witness all office visits with female patients.

Jenkins complied with the three-year order, Neva said. But after the monitoring ended, the board got another complaint.

This time, a woman said Jenkins touched her genital area in November 1991.

In August 1992, the therapy board again issued charges. After a hearing before the board, it moved to revoke his license in February 1993.

Jenkins appealed the revocation in Spokane County Superior Court. In February 1994, he won. Judge Robert Austin ruled Jenkins was treated unfairly when he tried to prepare his defense for the therapy board hearing.

The presiding officer at the state hearing also had helped investigate Jenkins and should’ve disqualified herself, the judge stated in court documents.

Jenkins would still face a hearing, Austin said, but this time before an impartial administrative law judge. Austin also ordered the state to pay Jenkins’ attorney fees of $16,292.

The next hearing was scheduled for November 1995.

In the meantime, two more women complained to the therapy board.

A music teacher said she was referred to Jenkins by her family doctor after she fell while roller skating and injured her tailbone. The woman, who was pregnant, said Jenkins appeared kind and chatted with her about her first pregnancy.

But after several visits in 1986, he fondled her vagina during a therapy session, she said.

“I was really in shock,” said the woman, now 40. “I couldn’t believe this was happening. I just froze.”

The last two complaints were added to the charges set to go before an administrative law judge last November.

That hearing never took place.

Instead, Jenkins and the therapy board worked out another agreement: Jenkins gave up the license he’d had since 1980 for at least five years, beginning Dec. 18, 1995. To reapply, he must undergo psychiatric treatment and develop a “relapse prevention plan,” Neva said.

Neva admitted the therapy board’s attempt to revoke Jenkins’ license took much longer than expected. “This one was just extraordinary in the dollars that were spent,” she said.

No one kept track of exactly how much it cost, Neva said. “It involved many assistant attorneys general.”

Charges of sexual misconduct are difficult to prove, she said. “There’s only a victim and a practitioner and no witnesses. It’s usually one person’s word against the other.”

The music teacher said she was surprised to learn Jenkins can apply for his license again in five years.

“I’d like to have seen him never practice again,” she said. “But in an imperfect world, I guess this is as good as it gets.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: LOSING HIS LICENSE Vern Jenkins can’t practice physical therapy for five years. If he wishes to reapply for his license after five years, the state says he: Must have a mental health exam with someone experienced in treating health care professionals who have engaged in sexual misconduct. Must get mental health treatment, if recommended. Must prepare a relapse prevention plan, including steps he’d take to protect his patients. Must update his professional skills.