A Sacramento divorce lawyer pleaded no contest today to four counts of felony sexual battery and one additional count of attempted sexual contact, also a felony, on his clients and could be in line for a state prison term, according to his lawyer.
Gary Appelblatt, 58, had been charged in 13 counts involving five different victims. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Gary E. Ransom set Appelblatt's sentencing for Oct. 16.
Appelblatt's plea exposes him to a maximum of eight years in prison, according to his attorney, Tom Johnson. But under the terms of the plea, the Sacramento County district attorney's office agreed to suspend time on the four sexual battery counts. Also, the judge cannot take any of the information on the dismissed counts into consideration in sentencing Appelblatt, Johnson said.
Johnson said the most Appelblatt can be sentenced under the plea is to the 18 months in prison for the attempted sexual "touching" count. If the judge wants to sentence Appelblatt to more time, he must reject the plea agreement, Johnson said.
Appelblatt also faces a five-year term on probation, Johnson said.
Deputy District Attorney Keith Hill could not be reached for comment earlier today.
At Appelblatt's preliminary hearing last year, Sacramento County sheriff's detectives testified that Appelblatt improperly touched his clients during consultations on their divorce cases under the guise of performing medical procedures on them. He told the women he had a pharmacy degree, according to testimony at the preliminary hearing.
In one instance, he offered to reduce a client's bill by $5,000 if she would have sex with him, the testimony showed.
Appelblatt declined to comment today on the plea agreement.
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