Menominee Falls, WI therapist charged with sex assault

A Wisconsin therapist was charged on Monday with 6 counts of sexual exploitation by a therapist and other sex charged stemming from involvement with two clients - a 29 year old man, previously abused as a child, and a 39 year old woman. The Sheboygan County Circuit Court will hear the charges against the therapist. Judge James Bolgert will preside over a January 5 court apperance.

John R. Monacelli, 45, lived in Menominee Falls, WI, a suburb of Milwaukee, but worked at Genesis Behavioral Services, in Sheboygan, 60 miles north of Milwaukee.

The 29-year-old man was assigned to have individual counseling sessions at Genesis with Monacelli about Oct. 10, 2007. About Oct. 16, toward the end of a session, Monacelli exposed himself to the man and told him to have oral sex with him, and after the sex act, told the man not to tell anyone else. Monacelli repeated the sex acts during counseling sessions on two other occasions later in October, including one time when the oral sex act was interrupted by a knock on the door by another Genesis employee.

The 39-year-old woman was assigned to have group sessions at Genesis in September 2007 and began individual sessions with Monacelli about Oct. 1.

During a session about a week later, the woman told the investigator that Monacelli approached her, kissed her on the lips and fondled her breasts over her clothing. The next day, she was in Monacelli's office and he exposed himself to her and asked her to perform oral sex on him. That session was interrupted by a knock on the door by another counselor.

In mid-October, the woman said she and Monacelli had sexual intercourse during a session. A few days after that, Monacelli offered to drive her to an appointment in Washington County, and before returning to Sheboygan, he took her to two stores to buy her clothes and cigarettes, but told her to keep the purchases secret. While driving back to Sheboygan, he had her perform another sex act on him.

If convicted on each count, Monacelli faces 45 years in prison and a $150,000 fine. People charged with sexual exploitation of a therapist in Wisconsin face 12 1/2 years in prison and a $25,000 fine per count.