Dalton, Ga., counselor accused of asking clients for sex faces sexual assault charge | Times Free Press

Staats is not a licensed professional counselor, he was an unlicensed "Christian" counselor that is not regulated by the state.  Staats was still able to practice because he held a master of divinity degree.

When they made court-ordered visits to a Dalton, Ga., counselor, two women say, the counselor solicited them for sex.

One woman told Dalton police that Daniel Durward Staats fondled her breast, exposed himself and received oral sex from her during a July visit to his practice, Helping the Hurting. A month later, a second woman told police that Staats said he was in an open marriage and that the woman could give photos of herself to his secret Facebook page. After the counseling session, he sent her a friend request and private messages under a fake name, according to an incident report.

Four months later, on Friday, Dalton police arrested Staats on a charge of sexual assault by a psychotherapist. The crime is based on the accusations from the meeting in July. Dalton police Spokesman Bruce Frazier said a detective on the case did not think the actions in the August session constituted a crime.

Because he offers Christian-based counseling, Georgia law protects him from the level of scrutiny that a licensing board could provide a secular company. Staats, 63, told the Times Free Press in an email Wednesday, "I am not guilty of the charge."

Dalton, Ga., counselor accused of asking clients for sex faces sexual assault charge | Times Free Press