Appellate opinion gives details on Westchester chiropractor's sexual assaults
If you don't want to be upset while eating your Cheerios, I suggest you don't click on the 2nd District Court of Appeal's opinion, issued Wednesday, in the sexual assault case against former Westchester chiropractor Thomas Dickershaid.
While we knew about the allegations against Dickershaid (our last story on his sentencing is after the jump), we didn't hear any of the victims testify during his trial. Dickershaid, it seemed, liked to hug every woman who came through his office, and convinced the victims that their back and neck pain could be alleviated by his uninvited sexual molestations.
Dickershaid lost his appeal and will continue serving his 24-year prison sentence.
Judge scolds rapist doctor - COURTS: The former chiropractor from Westchester gets a 24-year prison sentence.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Katherine Mader could have sent Thomas Dickershaid , 66, to prison for 40 years.
Deputy District Attorney Lisa Houle said she asked for 32 years but was pleased with the sentence.
"I think the victims feel a great sense of closure and finality to what has been, really for some of them, many years of terror," Houle said.
An Airport Courthouse jury convicted Dickershaid on Sept. 26 of 11 counts of forcible rape, sexual battery by restraint, sexual battery by fraud and sexual penetration with a foreign object.
Four of the women were patients, and one was looking for a job at his Fresh Start Chiropractic office at 8727 La Tijera Blvd.
Their ages ranged from the 20s to 60s. The assaults occurred from August 2004 to September 2006.
None of the women knew each other, yet they all gave similar accounts of what Dickershaid said and did in assaulting them, Houle said.
Dickershaid maintains his innocence and vowed to appeal. He testified that he had consensual relations with two of the women and denied anything sexual occurred with the other three.
His DNA was found on the two women with whom he said he had consensual sex.
Before he was sentenced, Dickershaid expressed remorse to the court for allowing himself to be put in a position in which the allegations could arise, according to his attorney, David Diamond.
He admitted he broke ethical guidelines for a chiropractor, but said he didn't commit any crimes.
Diamond said the women lied and suggested they were motivated by money and "coached."
One woman was retaliating against Dickershaid because he would not report that she was injured during an accident, Diamond said. Another woman could not describe the room where the assault occurred, including a large X-ray machine in it, he added.
"When someone is interviewed over and over by law enforcement, miraculously, they start telling the same version of the story," Diamond said.
The judge told Dickershaid that he is a danger to society and that he took advantage of the women and his position of trust, according to Houle.
Houle said the judge told Dickershaid : "Your explanation on the stand was a series of intricate lies you weaved together. I found them offensive, and the jurors found them offensive."
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Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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This is very nice and good post. Really i loved it.
what happen to the accuse chiropractic practitioner is he on the prison right now, im too curious to know it.