The director of Napa State Hospital was led away from hospital grounds in handcuffs and arrested Wednesday morning on suspicion of 35 counts of child molestation.
Executive Director Ed Foulk, 63, who was hired in 2007 to lead the hospital, was arrested on charges of molesting a foster child under his care for more than a decade when he lived in Long Beach.
He was arrested on a warrant issued by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for 35 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child.
According to the Los Angeles DA's Office, the alleged crimes include 22 counts of forcible oral copulation, 11 counts of sodomy by use of force, and two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child.
Officials said Foulk allegedly began sexually molesting a 10-year-old boy in the fall of 1992, shortly after he began care for him as a foster child. The molestation allegedly continued through 2003, after he and the youth moved to Walnut, a city in Los Angeles County.
In a statement, the Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Lesley Klein said there were numerous other alleged victims, but that their cases fall outside the statute of limitations.
The District Attorney's Office said Long Beach police were alerted to the case last year, after an alleged victim who is now in his 40s, learned that Folk was in charge of the Napa State Hospital.
The DA's statement points out that Napa State Hospital "houses inmates who are sexual offenders."
None of the allegations involve children from Northern California nor the 1,200-patient all adult Napa psychiatric facility, Long Beach police spokeswoman Sgt. Dina Zapalski said, adding that Foulk is a former resident of Long Beach.
Last September, Long Beach police detectives began investigating alleged child molestation that occurred in Long Beach from 1975 to 2006. The police investigation of Foulk included 5 alleged victims known to him, police said.
After he was taken into custody in Napa, Foulk was driven to Southern California to be booked at the Long Beach Jail, Zapalski said.
State Department of Mental Health officials stressed Wednesday that the allegations were unrelated to operations at Napa State Hospital. Officials moved quickly to end ties with Foulk.
Dr. Stephen W. Mayberg, director of the state mental health department, issued a statement a few hours after Foulk's arrest:
"The charges are related to incidents that predate Mr. Foulk's tenure at Napa State Hospital. Mr. Foulk's employment with the Department of Mental Health has been terminated, effective immediately."
Mayberg said Dolly Matteucci, Napa State Hospital administrator, would serve as acting executive director while a search is conducted for a new director.
Located in the City of Napa, the 440-acre Napa State Hospital provides mental health services to individuals who are committed by county mental health departments and by the courts.
Foulk replaced the hospital's former executive director, Dave Graziani, in March 2007. Graziani had retired from the post after 32 years at the hospital.
Prior to his appointment, Foulk worked for the state mental health department as chief of program, policy and fiscal support. Before that, he held positions as CEO and COO of private community acute psychiatric hospitals, including CPC Horizon Hospital and Clinic in Pomona, and CPC Alhambra Psychiatric Hospital in Rosemead, according to the state mental health department.
Foulk was in charge of a staff of more than 2,300 employees that provided clinical, administrative and support services for the daily activities of the hospital and treatment of patients who reside there.
Napa State Hospital, established in 1875, is one of five hospitals in the state's mental health system and the only state hospital in Northern California for patients with mental illness.
Long Beach police officials said the investigation is continuing and that detectives suspect there may be more victims or witnesses. They ask that anyone with information related to Foulk contact the Long Beach sex crimes unit at (562) 570-7368.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said that if convicted on all counts, Foulk would face more than 280 years in prison. Prosecutors have requested that Foulk's bail be set at $3.5 million.
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