Counselor indicted on sex abuse charges

A Dale County grand jury has indicted an Ozark counselor who was charged with multiple counts of sexually abusing a client in his Enterprise office.

According to court records, 51-year-old Virgil Allen Freet of Barbara Drive in Ozark is expected to be arraigned in a Dale County courtroom on July 29 for sexual abuse in the first and second degree.

Freet was president, licensed counselor and shareholder of Independent Counseling & Assessment Services in Enterprise when a teenage client took surveillance equipment into a session to monitor their conversation, according to earlier reports.

Freet was arrested on the charges on May 23 and released from the Dale County Jail on May 27 under $10,000 bond.

If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in a state prison.

The Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling issued a summary suspension of Freet’s professional counselor license on June 3. A formal disciplinary hearing concerning the matter was expected to be scheduled within 120 from then.