Verdict: Use Simple Good Sense

The sentencing last week of Pasadena psychologist John Gottuso to 30 days of house arrest and five years of probation on a sex-abuse charge poses an obvious question. Just how was this man able to run a private Christian K-12 school? And why will he be able to return to it once his sentence is completed? The answer requires some explanation, but there is a way to rectify what appears to be an appalling situation.

On Monday of last week, a Pasadena municipal court judge handed out the sentence after Gottuso pleaded no contest to demonstrating a sex act with a teenage girl at his school. But that’s not all that we know about this character. Back in 1989, the California State Board of Medical Quality Assurance revoked Gottuso’s license to practice as a psychologist. That was after nine female patients complained to state regulators that Gottuso engaged in a variety of sex acts with them, in clear violation of professional standards.

Two years later, another state agency barred Gottuso from any involvement with his church’s preschoolers, in part because investigators said he once played “sex tag” under a blanket with two girls. And just last month, Gottuso settled a sexual and psychological abuse lawsuit filed by 11 plaintiffs that required Gottuso’s insurer to fork out $3.2 million.

Here’s the problem: Private schools are not licensed by the state. Schools have been barred only since October from hiring convicted felons, but Gottuso is not a felon. Obviously, a private school that wanted to keep its accreditation could fire Gottuso outright, but Gottuso runs his school. He’s in charge.

Current laws could be amended to handle this situation. For example, laws that bar adults guilty of violent or serious felonies from working at private schools could have language added to include any sex offense, including misdemeanors. And state officials could have, and should have, publicized each of their actions, offering a clear warning to parents who might not otherwise know about a professional’s checkered past. If it makes sense to publicize the names of people who will not pay child support, why not do the same to state-licensed professionals who could endagner children, keeping them from contact with preschoolers and similar situations?