sa国际传媒官网网页入口

The Marine Corps veteran 鈥� identified in court records as 鈥淩.C.鈥� 鈥� sized up bridges according to how likely it was that someone would die if they jumped off.

On Nov. 13, 2023, the 34-year-old chugged "a ton of wine." Then she called an Uber to take her from sa国际传媒官网网页入口 to the fifth-highest bridge in the country, the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in Taos.

"I told my mom I don't care if I live or die and then she called 911 on me," R.C. recalled in a deposition in February.

A behavioral health team with sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Community Safety soon arrived at her sa国际传媒官网网页入口 home and persuaded R.C. to go to the Veteran Affairs Medical Center for help.

But after dropping her off, one of the responders began sending texts, asking to see her and soliciting her for sex, according to court records. Two days after being discharged, she agreed.

R.C. wasn鈥檛 alone. Within weeks, the same responder set his sights on a 27-year-old woman with paranoid schizophrenia whom he helped transport to the University of New Mexico Hospital. Though she was medicated and still experiencing symptoms of psychosis, he texted the woman, identified as 鈥淕.N.,鈥� while she was hospitalized. He wanted to make a date for sex as soon as she was released, the records show.

鈥淢y gosh youre so beautiful,鈥� one of his texts said. 鈥淚鈥檒l give you a baby鈥�We would have beautiful babies.鈥� He allegedly sent her a photo of his genitals. Less than three hours after she was released from a psychiatric hospital, he picked her up and had sex with her in his truck.

That encounter, reported by G.N.鈥檚 parents to sa国际传媒官网网页入口 police, led Justin Kersting to resign his job as a behavioral health specialist in lieu of termination in January 2024, court records show. No criminal charges were filed against him.

But the two women鈥檚 accounts spurred state and federal lawsuits against Kersting and the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口. The lawsuits allege he used his government job with sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Community Safety to entice them into sexual encounters in which he exploited their vulnerabilities for his sexual gratification.

The city is also accused of negligent supervision of Kersting, and clearing him for hire despite his 鈥渆xtensive criminal history, including prior violent criminal offenses,鈥� court records allege.

鈥淏efore hiring Kersting, the City failed to conduct a proper background check, which would have identified him as a serial abuser of young women who was prone to violence and unfit to entrust with the safety of others during the most vulnerable times of their lives,鈥� according to a state district court lawsuit filed by the parents of G.N., who, like the Marine veteran, is not identified by name.

City officials are also accused of failing to check the welfare of other young women patients he dealt with during his eight months as a city behavioral health responder.

Kersting, 38, at one point told sa国际传媒官网网页入口 police the sex was consensual, according to court records, but has since taken the Fifth Amendment when questioned during depositions. Neither he nor his attorney responded to Journal requests for comment.

The city has denied any liability or negligence in the cases, and its attorney in the cases declined comment on Friday.

The now-5-year-old sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Community Safety Department that hired Kersting is touted as the first program of its kind in the country to employ trained civilians to respond to nonviolent behavioral health crises, calls on inebriation, homelessness, addiction, chronic mental illness, and situations that need de-escalation or mediation.

鈥淚 want ACS in our community,鈥� sa国际传媒官网网页入口 attorney Ryan Villa, who is representing both women, said recently. 鈥淚 think the vast majority of their employees are good people doing good work and helping our community in a way that we really need. But that doesn鈥檛 mean we can forget about the job the city has, to make sure these are the right people.鈥�

ACS responders may have backgrounds as social workers, peer-to-peer support, clinicians, counselors, or in similar fields. It works alongside the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Police Department and sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Fire Rescue as a third option for 911 dispatch, according to the city鈥檚 website.

While responding to more than 42,000 calls last year, ACS would get a 10.5% budget increase to $19.8 million under Mayor Tim Keller鈥檚 proposed fiscal year 2027 budget. The increase would enhance the department鈥檚 crisis response, city records state.

At the time Kersting was hired in May 2023, he had been convicted of a misdemeanor weapons offense in Colorado in 2017 after being arrested for firing a gun during a fight with bouncers at a bar. 

As a Bernalillo County corrections officer in 2010, Kersting was accused of pointing a gun at his ex-girlfriend and their infant daughter. Those charges were later dismissed and Kersting lost his job.

He had also faced misdemeanor domestic violence charges in 2014 and 2016. Those were later dismissed.

The lawsuit filed by R.C., the military veteran, stated that he has also worked previously for the Socorro Fire Department in 2017, and was fired.

Asked by the Journal whether the city conducted its own investigation into the allegations against Kersting and if so, the conclusion reached, ACS spokesperson Jorge Hernandez had no comment.

As to any safeguards that have been introduced to ensure the welfare of community service department clients, the spokesman stated that the city cannot comment on matters 鈥渋nvolving pending litigation, personnel discipline, or confidential client-related issues.鈥�

鈥渟a国际传媒官网网页入口 Community Safety is fully committed to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, and accountability in all interactions with the people we serve. Any concerns that come to our attention are addressed through the appropriate internal processes and in accordance with department policy,鈥� Hernandez added in an email.

Villa contends Kersting鈥檚 actions violated the two women鈥檚 civil rights and subjected them to trauma, emotional, mental and, in R.C.鈥檚 case, financial abuse.

Kersting allegedly initiated the sexual relationship with R.C., according to the lawsuit, 鈥渄espite his knowledge that she was suffering from mental health conditions,鈥� that included PTSD, suicide ideation, and heavy alcohol use.

She had just moved to New Mexico from California for work. 

鈥淚 was begging my mom to come out here because I just wasn鈥檛 functioning well,鈥� R.C. said at a deposition in the case in February. 鈥淎nd I like to know how high a bridge has to be or a building for someone to die鈥︹��

As a paramedic, she said, she had in the past 鈥減ulled out a lot of those people from the river.鈥�

After her mother left town and R.C. took up with Kersting, she ended up getting pregnant and had an abortion at his urging, court records state.

Over the next five months, she estimated they had sex 75 times, during which half the time she was 鈥減retty drunk.鈥� Other times, she said, she was unconscious, asleep, or had blacked out during their sexual activity. After he lost his city job, Kersting borrowed $2,000 from her, her lawsuit alleges.

When Kersting broke up with her in May 2024, she drank for the next two days, R.C. said at deposition. She said she came close to killing herself again, recalling her mother told her, 鈥渢his isn鈥檛 normal. I鈥檓 getting you help. I鈥檓 getting you justice.鈥�

She filed her lawsuit eight months later. The parents of G.N. filed suit in September.