Oklahoma Accepts Resignation Of Attorney Who Sexually Abused His Daughter
The Oklahoma Supreme Court accepted the resignation of a Tulsa attorney who admitted that he had sexually abused his daughter.
In the affidavit, Lewis acknowledges that the OBA has opened grievance DC 16-054 against him and that the grievance alleges that he committed criminal acts involving sexual abuse of his minor daughter and such acts reflect adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer. He states that he is aware, if proven, the acts constitute violations of Rule 8.4(b) of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct, 5 O.S.2011, ch. 1, app. 3-A, and Rule 1.3 of the RGDP.
Resignation is “tantamount to disbarment.”
Tulsa World had the daughter’s story
Her progression from scared child to confident advocate gave Lewis the resolve recently to open it for the world to see. The revelation that she was sexually assaulted from age 11 to 16 by her father, a well-known and respected Tulsa attorney, has stunned the legal community and motivated legislators to consider changing the law.
Lewis, 45, testified in February before the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee and put confessional-like letters from her father on a website, toprevail.org, which contains her story and the reasons she is seeking the expansion and eventual elimination of the statute of limitations on child molestation.
“It’s too late for me,” Lewis said. “But I can do something so no other victim will hit the same roadblocks I have. That when survivors get to a place of healing, they won’t be told, ‘Sorry, you are too late. Your time is up.’ ”
To explain her new-found advocacy requires telling her personal story, which has some twists and a mystery…
Her father, George Michael Lewis, became a senior partner at Doerner Saunders Daniel and Anderson. He was a donor and supporter of children’s causes and recipient of the James C. Lang Mentoring Award from the Tulsa County Bar Association in 2013. He is listed as aplaintiff’s attorney in a 2008 federal class-action lawsuit brought by foster children against the Oklahoma Department of Human Services alleging abuses in care, which led to the Pinnacle Plan reform.
After Lewis testified and launched her website, her father notified his firm, which placed him on “indefinite leave immediately,” according to a statement from the firm’s managing partner, Tom Q. Ferguson.
“First and foremost, we would like to express our heartfelt prayers and empathy to Ms. Lewis and commend her courage in telling her story and helping others who have dealt with sexual abuse,” the statement read.
“Upon learning more information, it was the decision of the firm to ask Mr. Lewis for his letter of resignation. He is no longer an employee of the firm. This news has come as a shock to our employees. We have been meeting with our employees collectively and individually and have made confidential counseling available to them through our Employee Assistance Program.”
After a letter was sent to the home address of George Michael Lewis seeking comment, the Tulsa World received a typed statement bearing his signature.
“No one can undo the past actions for which they are responsible,” the letter states. “I deeply regret the pain I have caused my daughter Ginger and my family. I support fully my daughter’s advocacy for a change in the law to provide more time for those who have violated the law to be adjudicated and held accountable, as I was many years ago.”
In response to the statement, Ginger Lewis said: “The notion that he was held accountable is insulting. His life continued as normal while I burdened myself with the shame he should have felt. The perpetrators of these crimes, as illustrated by my father’s statement, are shockingly devoid of any recognition of the damage they cause. Their lack of a moral compass sends their victims’ lives into a dizzying destructive spin that I hope my advocacy can help people overcome.”
(Mike Frisch)