Doctor’s Aide Faces Sexual Battery Charge

An assistant to a Burbank psychiatrist was charged with sexual battery and remained in sheriff’s custody Wednesday after a patient complained that he fondled her thigh and grabbed her buttocks.

David L. Peace was charged with harassing a 33-year-old woman during two appointments in early July, said Burbank Police Sgt. Scott Wilson.

The patient, who was not named by authorities, told police that Peace had been treating her with injections of vitamins, but she did not specify her ailment.

Psychological assistants such as Peace are not allowed to give shots, although they sometimes work for psychiatrists licensed to do that, according to the California Board of Psychology.

“A psychological assistant injecting somebody with anything is beyond the scope” of the job, said the board’s executive officer, Tom O’Connor. “Psychologists can’t pierce the skin. There’s no way a psych assistant could be giving people injections.”

Typically, a psychological assistant has a master’s degree in psychology and is trying to gain enough experience to enter the field professionally, O’Connor said.

Peace, 50, of North Hollywood had been registered to work as an assistant to psychiatrist David Hall since 1989, which allowed him to perform only limited duties under supervision, O’Connor said.

Hall retired from his South Pasadena practice in 1992 and said that he simply forgot to notify the state board. Meanwhile, Hall said Peace continued working for another psychiatrist, Bruce Bielinski, in Burbank.

Bielinski declined to discuss the case Wednesday. Burbank police arrested Peace at Bielinski’s office at 421 E. Angeleno Ave.

“He asked what he was being arrested for,” Wilson said. “When he was told sexual battery, he said, ‘Oh, OK,’ turned around and put his hands behind his back.” Peace, who has multiple sclerosis, is being held on $15,000 bail at the Los Angeles County Jail.

According to an account the victim gave police, Peace began sexually harassing her immediately after their July 6 appointment began.

“It started out with conversation of a sexual nature,” Wilson said. “He talked about explicit sexual activity he had with his girlfriend and mentioned that he thought sex was good therapy.”

During an appointment the next day, the woman told police, Peace fondled her thigh, tried to kiss her and touched her buttocks as she tried to leave.

The state Board of Psychology may take disciplinary action against assistants if presented with compelling evidence of misconduct or criminal convictions, O’Connor said.