Counselors lie in court and face charges
Friday, December 19, 2008
The attorney for two Lufkin counselors indicted for lying under oath during a child custody case compared the grand jury charges to a bologna sandwich on Thursday.
"There's an old saying that a district attorney could have a grand jury indict a bologna sandwich," said defense attorney John W. Tunnell. "This case is a bologna sandwich."
Tunnell's clients Mark Sutton and Juanda Morgan, who are married to each other and have a counseling practice together, have both been indicted for aggravated perjury. An Angelina County grand jury handed down two counts of the charges against Sutton and five counts against Morgan.
Angelina County District Attorney Clyde Herrington was not available for comment Thursday, although he usually does not comment on cases that are currently under investigation.
Sutton testified in a child custody case earlier this year that the father of the children involved had raised his voice "in a very loud and harassing manner" during the course of a counseling session, according to an indictment handed down by a grand jury Tuesday. Morgan testified that during her counseling session with the father "he began to yell very loudly at me," the report stated. Sutton and Morgan also said under oath they would characterize the father's type of behavior as consistent with a person who has rage, the report stated.
A tape recording of the session, reviewed and investigated by a Texas Ranger, revealed "such statement as being false," the report stated.
Morgan responded to a request for comment made Wednesday in a phone message left Thursday morning. She said she and her husband would not be avoiding comment on the case.
"This is a story that really affects the entire mental health counseling community here in Lufkin, in my opinion," she said. "Even though it looks like my specific problem at the moment, I think it indicates what a lot of mental health professionals are up against when occasionally a parent expects you to be a hired gun on the stand rather than a mental health professional."
The indictment issued Tuesday is not expected to affect the custody court case, which has already been resolved. The father did get custody rights to the children.
The counselers lies but yet it won't affect the custody case, Why, it should? Just goes to show what Father don't matter, and only seen as ATM's
