Lansing therapist charged with sexually assaulting client

EAST LANSING — A Lansing therapist has been charged with sexual assaulting a client, according to court records. 

Joseph Hethorn, 48, was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct as a mental health professional in East Lansing. 

Online court records indicate the alleged assault took place in November 2018.

Hethorn did not have an attorney listed in court records, and declined to comment Thursday when reached by phone. 

Hethorn's counselor license was issued in May 2018, after he graduated from Spring Arbor University, according to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Hethorn's online Psychology Today biography. 

He has no LARA disciplinary actions listed. 

Pardeep Toor, public information officer for LARA, said the department has an open investigation on Hethorn. 

Hethorn posted bond, and is no longer in custody at the Ingham County Jail. He's due back in court Feb. 21 for a pre-exam conference. 

His license has not been suspended as of Feb. 15, and he is able to practice while he is out on bond, Toor said. 

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Contact Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.