‘Hot piece of a**’: Tennessee counselor loses license for alleged sexual comments

CLEVELAND, Tenn.–A Tennessee mental health counselor has lost his license and been fined for allegedly making sexual comments to a client.

The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) Board of Professional Counselors, Marital and Family Therapists, and Clinical Pastoral Therapists issued an order revoking the license of Adolphus H. Pelley, who at the time of the reported incident was working for Heal and Hope Counseling Services in Cleveland, Tennessee.

According to the order, a female client had two sessions with Pelley in August 2021 at which time she detailed “several sexually inappropriate comments” allegedly made by Pelley. The order states Pelley allegedly told the woman to “stand in front of a mirror, grab her breasts and shake them, and exclaim that she’s “a hot piece of ass,” and then wanted her to demonstrate in front of him.”

The woman claims he also pointed to her vagina and told her not to sleep around. In addition, the order states he allegedly imposed his religious values on the woman by “going on a rant when he asked if she went to church and admitted that she did not.” He also is accused of demeaning her job, “telling her she should go back to school and get a real job.”

Pelley was fired the day after the woman’s complaint letter was filed with the company and his license has now been revoked along with a fine of $2,000.