Defense Counsel, Jail Representative Argue Over Defendant’s Medical Care

By D.C. Witness Staff - December 9, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Sex Abuse | Suspects |

With a trial approaching in June, a defense attorney said she cannot meet with her client because the Department of Corrections (DOC) is not providing him with a wheelchair that they reportedly determined he does not need.

The defendant was not present for the Dec. 8 proceedings. He is currently detained at DC Jail as he awaits trial on charges of first and second-degree child sex abuse.

Defense attorney Jacqueline Cadman said the defendant fell at one point and has been complaining of problems with his leg. She said he cannot walk but is not being provided with a wheelchair, precluding him from attending legal visits or taking care of himself. His feet have also turned a different color, she said.

Cadman also said DOC staff previously brought him to her in a wheelchair, but she was later told this was unauthorized and should not have happened. 

A representative with the DOC told DC Superior Court Judge Milton Lee that the defendant has been seen by DOC medical staff on multiple occasions and refused them at one point. He said an x-ray found no issues and that staff gave him ibuprofen and ice but found no reason he needed a wheelchair. 

Cadman asked Judge Lee to transfer her client from the Central Detention Facility (CDF) to the Correctional Treatment Facility if CDF cannot give him a wheelchair, but the DOC representative said they found no reason he would need that, either.

“We can’t have the stalemate,” Judge Lee said. He asked that the defendant been seen again and that his more recent medical records be sent to him so he’d have them for when parties reconvene to continue discussing the issue on Dec. 16.

Cadman motioned for her client’s release in November, but the request was denied.