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Back on Dec. 22, we reported on that arrest of a psychiatric care technician at the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents in Staunton on two charges involving sex offenses with a child.
The timestamp on our post on the AFP website is 12:15 p.m. on Dec. 22.
At 4:36 p.m. on Dec. 22, an email went out to CCCA employees from a Jennifer Maddox, whose email signature identifies her as the “chief quality officer” at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, which operates the Commonwealth Center.
It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence, the timing of the email.
“This is a reminder that staff members are not permitted to speak with media reporters or the press concerning CCCA or DBHDS,” Maddox wrote in the email. “This includes interviews, informal conversations, social media messages, or any requests for comment, whether in person, by phone, or online.”
ICYMI
Faniel Gerensea. Photo: RecentlyBooked.com
The CCCA employee, Faniel Gerensea, 20, of Harrisonburg, was charged with two counts of taking indecent liberties with child by person in custodial or supervisory relationship, a Class 5 felony, which comes with exposure of up to 10 years in state prison.
Gerensea, according to Middle River Regional Jail records, is still in custody; the Virginia online case information system tells us that a Staunton Circuit Court judge denied a bond request for Gerensea on Jan. 8.
Gerensea is next due in court for a preliminary hearing on March 16.
Here’s where I admit that I was only made aware of the arrest of Gerensea because several current and past employees at the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents had reached out to me in December with allegations of malfeasance at CCCA, and asked me to look into things there.
We tried, and got nowhere, because nobody at the state level seems to want to talk.
This email from Maddox to CCCA employees warning them to not speak with the news media was forwarded to me by an employee on Jan. 27.
I saw an opening.
I emailed the office of Gov. Abigail Spanberger that day to begin an inquiry into the policy of the administration vis-à-vis this kind whistleblower situation.
I noted in the email that the email from Ms. Maddox went out in December, when Glenn Youngkin was still in charge of the day-to-day operations of state government.
I’m not pinning the Youngkin administration approach to keeping bad news under wraps on Spanberger, but I am hopeful that the Spanberger folks can tell us that they won’t initiate any witch hunts of state employees who reach out to the media to prod them to look into possible wrongdoing.
I got somebody in the governor’s office on the phone on Feb. 4 and formally made that verbal ask.
I’ve gotten nothing in response yet; I’m still hopeful.
On Wednesday, I reached out to the press contact for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, Lauren Cunningham, to see if I could get some help from the agency itself on the effort by DBHDS to muzzle its employees.
Cunningham’s reply:
“Due to the ongoing criminal investigation and related legal proceedings, DBHDS and the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents (CCCA) are unable to provide additional information regarding the case you referenced. We must defer to law enforcement and the judicial process while that work is underway. What we can share is that the health and safety of the children and staff at CCCA remains our top priority.”
I noted in a reply to Cunningham on Thursday that I wasn’t actually asking about the Gerensea case, and that, instead, I want to get comment on “why the department is telling employees to not communicate with members of the news media.”
I sent that reply at 10:21 a.m. Thursday; this writing is more than 24 hours later – I strive to be more than fair!
Still, no response.
The bigger issue here to me: I’ve been getting emails from CCCA employees for a while now about bad stuff allegedly going on there, and every attempt I make to try to look into things ends up this way.
Shame on me for not doing what I’m doing now, which is, writing about the effort to stonewall.
The bigger goal: it’s time to find out more about what is going on behind closed doors at CCCA.