Attorneys representing a top official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday their client “vociferously” denies allegations she molested a 6-year-old boy.
Kimberly Quinlan Lindsey, deputy director for the Laboratory Science Policy and Practice Program Office at the CDC, was indicted, along with her husband, Thomas Joseph Westerman, Thursday in DeKalb County Superior Court on two counts of child molestation each.
“We’re extremely disappointed the DA chose to indict this case,” said Bob Rubin, a member of Lindsey’s defense team. “We felt we had shown enough information to the state that they’d understand Dr. Lindsey is not guilty of these charges.”
Lindsey and Westerman were arrested in October 2011 after a medical professional alerted police about a child molestation allegation. The indictment cites two incidents involving a 6-year-old boy, the first of which allegedly occurred in January 2011 and the second in August of that year.
“The timeline is going to be critical in this case,” said defense co-counsel Jason Sheffield, noting the lapse in time between the first allegation and the second. “It’s beyond curious.”
Lindsey’s case has attracted national attention, largely due to her position within the CDC, which she still holds. The Emory University graduate joined the CDC in 1999 and at one point was responsible for overseeing a $1.5 billion fiscal allocation process for terrorism preparedness.
“These allegations outlined in this indictment are both disturbing and troubling,” DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said Monday. “We will prosecute both of these individuals to the fullest extent of the law.”
Lindsey, 45, is alleged to have engaged in sexual activity with the boy in the presence of Westerman, a resource management specialist with the CDC at the time of his arrest. Westerman, 43, allegedly instructed the child to touch Lindsey while she was partially undressed, the indictment filed in DeKalb Superior Court states.
The couple shared a home in Decatur at the time. They’ve since married, according to Lindsey’s lawyers.
“This has caused significant trauma in her life,” said Rubin, adding his client fears the negative publicity generated by media coverage of the allegations may result in the loss of her job.
When asked about Lindsey’s future with the CDC, agency spokesman Tom Skinner said Monday, “Due process will play itself out,” declining further comment.
Lindsey’s husband, a resource management specialist at the time of his arrest, no longer works for the CDC, Skinner said.
Westerman’s attorney, Reid Thompson, said he would withhold comment until reviewing the indictment.
Meanwhile, Lindsey, the mother of a college freshman, is “ready to fight,” Rubin said.
“There’s far more to this case than what has been laid out in the indictment,” he said. “These charges are totally out of character with who we know Dr. Lindsey to be.”
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