Lawyer is accused of sexually assaulting client and several employees, disciplinary commission says
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A Chicago family lawyer has been accused of offering to help a woman get custody of her children in exchange for having sex with him.
According to a July 13 complaint filed by the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, David Pasulka, the sole principal of David P. Pasulka & Associates, was appointed guardian ad litem for the woman’s two children after she and her husband entered divorce proceedings in 2016.
During a meeting the next year, Pasulka put his hand under the woman’s scarf and “began touching her breasts both on top and underneath her clothing” and then put his hand under her dress and “began stroking her legs,” the complaint said.
He then “stated to [the woman] that, in order to receive his support in recommending that she receive sole custody, she only had to ‘do a little extra something’ and that she was a ‘smart girl,’ and that if she really wanted her children, he could ‘do that’ for her if she would have sex with him.”
CBS Chicago reported that according to a spokesperson for the office of the chief judge, Cook County Circuit Judge Grace Dickler suspended Pasulka from serving as guardian ad litem and from “any other court committee to which he has been appointed” in the domestic relations division because of the “serious allegations” in the complaint.
The disciplinary commission also said Pasulka sexually abused three female employees between 2012 and 2018.
He forcibly kissed and inappropriately touched them, and on several occasions, he forcibly penetrated them with his fingers, the complaint said. He also repeatedly asked them to engage in sexual acts with him.
The complaint additionally cites Pasulka’s 2017 arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. After he consumed “between one-half and 1 pint of vodka,” he rear-ended another car on his way home and drove away without stopping.
He then hit a Starbucks building and continued driving until he was stopped by police, the complaint said. He was sentenced to 12 months of court supervision and agreed to participate in Alcoholics Anonymous and use a “Soberlink” device, which measures alcohol content.
He later relapsed and violated that agreement, the complaint said.
CBS Chicago reported that Pasulka hasn’t been criminally charged for any of the incidents mentioned in the disciplinary commission complaint. He told CBS Chicago that he denies all allegations, and that he feels like he is being “dragged through the mud.”
