Schizophrenic Mesa Man Accused of Sexually Assaulting Court Appointed Therapist | Valley Fever | Phoenix | Phoenix New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Phoenix, Arizona
Navigation

Schizophrenic Mesa Man Accused of Sexually Assaulting Court Appointed Therapist

A mentally ill Mesa man was arrested Friday after police say he sexually assaulted his court appointed therapist in her office.Robert Gene Hebner III has a history of substance abuse. He has multiple convictions for crimes like endangerment and marijuana possession, according to records on the Maricopa County Superior Court's...
Share this:

A mentally ill Mesa man was arrested Friday after police say he sexually assaulted his court appointed therapist in her office.

Robert Gene Hebner III has a history of substance abuse. He has multiple convictions for crimes like endangerment and marijuana possession, according to records on the Maricopa County Superior Court's website. He's also a diagnosed schizophrenic.

According to court records obtained by New Times, Hebner went to his court-ordered therapy session on Monday afternoon. It was the first time he'd met his new, female therapist.

About 25 minutes into the session, Hebner told the woman he was going to "make a pass at [her]."

Hebner then got up from his chair and got on top of the therapist. Holding her down, Hebner told the woman "fuck me. Fuck me. It's going to happen. We're going to have sex."

The therapist started screaming "no," hoping that someone in the office would hear her and intervene. But nobody heard her cries, and the attack continued.

Hebner had the woman pinned on the floor, with her stomach on the ground. He put his hands up the therapist's shirt as she struggled to get away from him.

After a few minutes, people in the office heard the victim screaming and went into her office and got Hebner off of her.

Under Miranda, Hebner admitted to sexually assaulting the woman. He also told detectives he understood that attacking his therapist was wrong -- he also says he's smart, telling police that he went to Mesa Community College where he received all As and Bs.

When asked if he would have had sex with the woman if nobody had intervened, Hebner told detectives he wouldn't have because the therapist "loves her husband too much."

Hebner was booked on one count of sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse.

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Phoenix New Times has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.