Hypnotherapist guilty of fondling 2 patients

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — A hypnotherapist working in this eastern Idaho city has pleaded guilty to fondling two female patients while they were under hypnosis.

Edward Barry Tegeler, 60, pleaded guilty on Friday in 7th District Court. He had been charged in 2006 with four misdemeanor counts of battery, but two were dropped in exchange for the guilty pleas.

"I don't remember the event, but I plead guilty," Tegeler said in court.

One woman told Idaho Falls police that she went to Tegeler for help in stopping smoking. But she said she awoke during the session to find Tegeler with his mouth on her breast and his hands in her underwear.

Another woman told police she came back to consciousness to find Tegeler rubbing her genitalia.

Similar allegations were made against Tegeler in an earlier case in 2003, and he was sentenced in Bonneville County to two years probation after being found guilty of two counts of battery.

Sentencing Tegeler on the guilty pleas in the most recent case was delayed so that the women who reported his actions to police could be present.

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