(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
Lake County, MT -Spokane's Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center has begun the process of firing an employee who was arrested and charged with sexual assault in Montana.
According to the Clerk of Court at Lake County, MT, Frank D. Paulsen is charged with two counts of felony sexual assault. In 2016, Paulsen talked to KHQ and identified himself as an Operations Manager for the Spokane VA's surgery department.
KHQ reached out to Spokane VA spokesman Bret Bowers, who confirmed that they are aware that a Spokane employee is charged in the Montana criminal case. Bowers then sent a statement on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs:
“This behavior is not in line with the norms and values of the department, and as a result VA has initiated the process for termination of this employee. VA has made clear that it will hold employees accountable when they to fail to live up to the high standards taxpayers expect from us, and that’s exactly what we’re doing in this case.”
Paulsen was arrested this week, booked into jail and then released. He's expected to face a judge in Montana for the first time next week.
Paulsen is the second Mann-Grandstaff employee who has faced sex crime charges. Craig Morgenstern, an emergency room doctor at the VA, was convicted of nearly three dozen counts of sex abuse and child porn charges. Morgenstern was sentenced to life in prison in 2016.