DMV groper admits guilt

He returns to court Aug. 10 for a probation report and sentencing. If convicted by a jury, Cat faced up to a year in county jail per charge although it is nearly impossible to serve that long at a local correctional facility.

Prosecutors offered him a plea about a month ago. Cat considered it for a week but ultimately declined. Earlier this week, defense attorney Craig Brown contacted prosecutor Donna Provezano about calling the matter before a judge.

As Cat's criminal case draws to an end, a civil attorney represented four of the girls Cat is accused of fondling is readying a different legal tack against his former employer, the Department of Motor Vehicles. Aside from asking Cat for punitive damages, the lawsuit demands compensation and policy changes.

The DMV balked at the request for an immediate injunction against unchaperoned permit tests for minors and attorney Don Galine agreed to remove it from the complaint. Galine was alerted he cannot ask for an injunction against an entity, only a person, said paralegal Maureen Backman.

Negligence alleged

Now, Galine is trying a different angle - filing a civil rights lawsuit against the DMV on behalf of his clients.

"The state of California is saying they are not negligent even though they hired this dangerous guy, this predator," Galine said. "They claim we can't sue the state for liability so we're looking at the girls' civil rights being violated by an invasion of their privacy."

Cat had the girls drive into the hills of Redwood City, try to park the car without letting the wheels touch the curb and touch them under the guise of consoling them when they failed, according to the civil lawsuit. The lawsuit also alleges the DMV continued letting Cat work despite reports of his alleged misconduct.

"The state is now taking a hard-line position that they have no liability even though they knew he was a perpetrator and molested other women ... this has become a blood bath," Galine said.

Cat first caught authorities' attention last October after one minor female filed a police report against the instructor who worked at the Redwood City branch of the DMV. Cat was arrested in November and six more alleged victims came forward. By the beginning of the year, the number jumped to 14 females.

Cat terminated

The DMV first placed Cat on leave but terminated his employment Nov. 19 after conducting its own internal investigation.

Police arrested Cat in October but he immediately posted bail. A judge later upped bail to $100,000 but Cat made up the difference the same day and has been free from custody.

Galine is hopeful that Cat's no-contest pleas will bolster the civil cases against both him and the state. Typically, only felony convictions can be used in civil cases but the great number of misdmeanors may sway a judge, Galine said.

Neither David Hamilton nor Amy Lo, the deputy attorney generals handling the case for the state, could be reached for comment.

Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said "there is no disagreement that the conduct by this employee is reprehensible which is why he is dismissed." However, the state's liability for Cat's actions is another matter, he said.

The law requires Galine to find a government code to city for negligence and the state will likely argue that Cat's action's were beyond his scope of employment, Barankin said.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 104. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.