CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A woman claims that a local optometrist assaulted her while she was an employee at his office.
The woman, who took to social media, recounted her side of the story while employed at Chester Eye Center, located at 261 North Woodbridge Avenue. She posted, “Now that I don’t work here anymore! I would like to show how this workplace treats its employees.” The woman posted a picture of a large red mark on her back, as well as a text message, allegedly from Dr. Michael Chester, saying, “I just heard you were upset by my tapping your shoulder with my chart. I was only trying not to startle you by charging into the room. I sincerely apologize for the incident.”
In addition, the woman shared an image of a printed paper that says, “In response to an interaction that occurred between Michael Chester, O.D., and [victim’s name] on 4/23/23, the following guidelines have been proposed and discussed with [victim’s name] today to promote a safe and professional workplace at Chester Eye Center.”
The paper then lists the following guidelines:
- Dr. Mike and [victim’s name] are to have no physical contact, direct or indirect.
- Dr. Mike and [victim’s name] will have a third party (another employee or patient) present in all areas of the workplace, as much as daily operations and patient care will allow.
- Dr. Mike will not make any comments in the workplace that may be considered inappropriate or unprofessional.
The paper then has three spaces for signatures and dates. The image shown on social media was unsigned. The Guardian could not verify the authenticity of the document.
A police report regarding the incident was filed on Wednesday with the Chillicothe Police Department.
The former employee further said in her social media post that she was told to keep quiet about the alleged incident. “I was told to keep my mouth shut for my job’s sake,” the woman said. According to the former employee, several other co-workers had recently quit their jobs at Chester Eye Center.
The Guardian reached out to Chester Eye Center and Dr. Michael Chester for comment regarding these accusations. As of this publication time, we have yet to hear back from them.
The case, according the Chillicothe Police Department, remains under investigation. The victim told officers that she reported this incident to the State of Ohio Medical Board.