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Drug counselor sentenced for stalking client By Chris Bristol A Medford drug and alcohol counselor was put on two years of supervised probation Monday for stalking a client he got involved with sexually. Gerald Alan Vines, 53, admitted in a Jackson County courtroom that he called the victim, who was being treated for alcoholism, after she obtained a court order prohibiting him from contacting her. The victim, 54, trembled as she read a brief statement in which she recounted mixed feelings about entering into a sexual relationship with Vines, who was her counselor at Addictions Recovery Center in Medford. "Yes, I was needy," she said, explaining that her alcoholism made her vulnerable and that she soon began to feel "emotionally blackmailed" by Vines. She said that after about five months she finally got the courage to end the relationship, but Vines kept bothering her, sending her threatening e-mail and dismissing his profession�s code of ethics as something that "didn�t matter." The harassment continued to the point that Vines lied to others that she had Hepatitis C and even began spying on her through binoculars, the victim said. "I felt observed constantly and did not wish it," she told the court. Before sentencing, Vines said he called the victim only to ask her to retract the stalking order because it was jeopardizing his counseling certification. In addition to probation, Judge Ray White ordered Vines to perform 80 hours of community service and pay $750 in court costs. "It took a little pounding on your head to get that message through," the judge said. "You just need to make sure there is not further contact." Vines� counseling certification was suspended Nov. 3 after the allegations surfaced, according to Nikki Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Addiction Counselor Certification Board of Oregon. She said the group�s code of ethics explicitly prohibits counselors from having sexual relationships with current or former clients. Vines since has moved to Washington state. A spokesman for ARC refused to say whether Vines was fired, citing confidentiality concerns about employees. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.