Rape charge dropped against former counselor

BOSTON --Prosecutors have dropped a rape charge against a former counselor accused of assaulting a teen girl at the center for troubled youth where he worked.

The rape charge against Derrick Patrick, 36, of Boston was dropped Friday after what prosecutors said was "a careful review of the facts and extensive consultation" with the alleged victim.

As part of a plea deal, Patrick pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor counts of having sex for a fee. He was sentenced to two years probation and 60 days in prison, which he already served waiting for trial.

"My client was the victim of false accusations, and he is happy to put this behind him and to move on with his life," said Shannon McAuliffe, Patrick's attorney.

Patrick worked as a counselor at the Ella J. Baker House in the Dorchester section of Boston. According to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley's office, on four occasions between 2005 and 2006, Patrick paid for sex from a 17-year-old woman who was receiving mentoring at the center. The teen accused him of forcing himself on her in a Baker House bathroom after she refused to have sex with him in January 2006.

Patrick denied the charges and a DNA test did not link Patrick to the girl.

The incidents led the Rev. Eugene Rivers, founder of the Ella Baker House, to relinquish management duties, though he remains on the board.

Some private and public funding agencies broke with the house after the accusations, forcing it to lay off six full-time employees.

Board chairman Matthew Machera said the incidents led to important changes at the youth center.

"This is a hard lesson from which the Ella J. Baker House has benefited," he told The Boston Globe. "Policies and procedures have already been put in place to prevent the recurrence of such an incident."