Judge finds probable cause in veteran molestation case

BECKLEY – A federal magistrate ruled Tuesday that there was probable cause in the case of a doctor who formerly worked for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Beckley and was charged in a criminal complaint which included sexually molesting a veteran.

Dr. Jonathan Yates, 51, of Bluefield, Va., appeared via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar Aboulhosn for a preliminary hearing. After hearing arguments from the federal government’s attorney and defense attorney Ward Morgan, who is representing Yates, Aboulhosn ruled that there was probable cause.

According to the criminal complaint, while working at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in February 2019, Yates examined a male patient identified as Veteran 1, and during the examination, Yates sexually molested the veteran. Yates caused Veteran 1 severe pain and numbness, and temporarily incapacitated him by cracking his neck, after Veteran 1 had explicitly requested Yates not to crack his neck.

While Veteran 1 was incapacitated, Yates sexually molested Veteran 1, according to the complaint. This conduct, performed while Yates was acting under color of law in his capacity as a federal employee at the VAMC, deprived Veteran 1 of his constitutional right to bodily integrity.
Deprivation of rights under color of law, as charged in the complaint, is punishable by up to life in prison.

Special Agent Georgia Marshall of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who is assigned to the Huntington resident agency out of the bureau’s Pittsburgh division, testified at Tuesday’s hearing that the nature of the complaint was “inappropriate contact of a sexual nature during a medical appointment.”

Veteran 1 had sought a referral for massage therapy to address complaints including chronic back pain and pains in his hips, fingers and toes. Marshall said the veteran told Yates not to touch his neck because it was particularly sensitive. The incident took place in an examination room, and Yates and Veteran 1 were the only people there at that time.

Marshall said that the veteran told FBI investigators that Yates started by massaging his chest hair, but then commented about the amount of hair on his chest and called him “a real man.” She also testified that the Veteran said that Yates stated that it was normal to get “sexual arousal” during such appointments, and that Yates did not stop when Veteran 1 asked him to do so. During the examination, Yates touched Veteran 1’s genitalia, she stated.

During the incident, Yates performed a “neck crack” on Veteran 1 without warning him that he was about to do it, she told the court.

“He said that he experienced pain and numbness throughout his body and could not move,” Marshall testified. Yates then rolled the veteran onto his stomach without permission. At one point, Yates slapped Veteran 1’s backside.

Marshall said investigators consulted another osteopathic physician who said it is possible to immobilize a person with a neck crack if that person’s neck is particularly sensitive. The doctor the FBI consulted also stated there was “no medical reason” to touch Veteran 1’s genitalia.

“It ended with Dr.Yates hugging the veteran,” Marshall said.

Attorney Ward Morgan, who is representing Yates, asked if his client had made any statement during the FBI’s investigation. Marshall replied that to the best of her knowledge, he had not.

In the complaint, Veteran 1 said the examination room’s door was locked. Morgan asked Agent Marshall if she had ever visited the room and knew what sort of lock was on the door. She replied that she had not been there.

“The only proof you have that the door was locked comes from Veteran 1,” Morgan said.

“Yes, sir,” Marshall replied.

Morgan then asked Marshall what specific constitutional or statutory right investigators contend that Dr. Yates deprived Veteran 1 of. Marshall said it was “freedom of movement,” because he was unable to move and could not stop Dr. Yates from turning him over.

In his summation, Morgan argued that touching Veteran 1’s genitalia during the examination was “incidental” and that there was no evidence that he was incapacitated, and that he could have left at any point. He also argues that his client’s actions had not been shown to be a “willful deprivation of any right.”

Aboulhosn ruled that the case had probable cause. Yates is currently free on a $10,000 unsecured bond, but is under home confinement.

The hearing was conducted via teleconference due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has called for a congressional hearing about the case.

“I am absolutely disgusted to learn new details about a medical professional abusing Veterans at the Beckley VA Medical Center,” Manchin said. “It is unthinkable that someone in a position of power would exploit our brave veterans and I am glad the FBI acted to remove this former doctor and deliver justice for those who were abused. Our Veterans Affairs facilities should be places of comfort and world-class care. As a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, I am going to demand a hearing to uncover how this abuse went undetected for so long.”

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Judge finds probable cause in veteran molestation case

Former Veterans Affairs doctor in W.Va. accused of incapacitating, molesting patient

BECKLEY, W.Va. (WHSV) — A doctor who formerly worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, has been charged with depriving a veteran of his civil rights under the color of law.

Dr. Jonathan Yates, 51, was arrested on Thursday at his home by Special Agents of the FBI and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the Bluefield, Virginia Police Department.

That's according to the Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors say the charge stems from an incident that happened while Dr. Yates was working at the VA in February 2019.

According to a criminal complaint, Yates sexually molested a patient during an exam.

The complaint says Yates also caused the veteran he was examining severe pain and numbness and temporarily incapacitated him by cracking the patient's neck after the patient explicitly requested him not to do so.

The complaint says while the patient was incapacitated, Yates sexually molested him again.

The alleged conduct, performed while Dr. Yates was acting under color of law as a federal employee at the VAMC, deprived the victim of his constitutional right to bodily integrity, the Department of Justice says.

That charge is punishable by up to life in prison.

Dr. Yates will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar Aboulhosn on Thursday.

Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, U.S. Attorney Michael B. Stuart for the Southern District of West Virginia, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel, and Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael J. Missal announced the charge.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5342).

The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Veterans Affairs Police Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office sought immediate detention in this matter. The case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg McVey of the Southern District of West Virginia.

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Former Veterans Affairs doctor in W.Va. accused of incapacitating, molesting patient

Syracuse doc arrested at hospital was cited for poor care in another state

Dr. Andrew Rudin, who was part of St. Joseph's cardiology department, has been accused in a federal indictment of being the supervising physician at a medical group in Tennessee that improperly prescribed opioids and other drugs.

By James T. Mulder 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – St. Joseph’s Health is reviewing the vetting process it used to hire a doctor arrested last week who had previously been cited for providing poor care in another state.

Dr. Andrew S. Rudin, a cardiologist, was charged last week in a national roundup of medical professionals accused of illegally distributing prescription pain pills.

Drug Enforcement Agents escorted Rudin out of St. Joe’s Wednesday, less than three months after the hospital publicly welcomed him to its staff in a news release touting Rudin’s expertise in treating atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heart beat.

Tennessee health department records show Rudin voluntarily gave up his clinical privileges at a hospital after being cited for “substandard or inadequate care.” The records say Rudin voluntarily surrendered his privileges at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Tennessee to avoid an investigation “relating to professional competence or conduct.”

A federal judge issued a default judgment of $1.6 million against Rudin in 2012 to settle a malpractice lawsuit by a patient operated on in 2010 at Jackson-Madison Hospital. Rudin performed an “ablation” procedure on the patient, Joe D. Williams, to stop atrial fibrillation, according to court records.

Ablation involves threading narrow tubes into the heart to burn heart tissue to stop abnormal electrical signals from causing atrial fibrillation.

Sandra Williams, the patient’s wife, testified Rudin burned a hole through her husband’s esophagus during the procedure that nearly killed him and left him disabled. She said Rudin never responded to the lawsuit or paid the judgment. Neither Rudin nor his attorney could be reached for comment.

When The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com asked St. Joe’s if it was aware of the malpractice case and Rudin’s surrender of his hospital privileges in Tennessee, the hospital said, “The circumstances surrounding Dr. Rudin’s credentialing at St. Joseph’s Hospital are presently under review.”

St. Joe’s initially put Rudin on administrative leave, but said today it fired him after reviewing the criminal allegations.

Federal prosecutors accused Rudin, another doctor and a nurse practitioner of participating in a scheme to improperly prescribe opioids and other drugs in Jackson, Tennessee. Rudin pleaded not guilty last week in federal court.

“ … the criminal matter involving Dr. Rudin is not connected to St. Joseph’s Health in any way but to activities connected to his practice in Tennessee more than two years prior to his affiliation to St. Joseph’s Health,” Dr. Joseph Spinale, St. Joe’s chief medical officer, said in a prepared statement.

From August 2016 to January 2017 Rudin supervised a nurse practitioner in Tennessee who prescribed drugs to patients who didn’t need them in exchange for money, notoriety and sexual favors, according to the indictment.

Jeffrey W. Young, the nurse practitioner, once branded himself as “Rock Doc” as part of an effort to start a reality TV show. Rudin gave Young’s practice the appearance of legitimacy by allowing his name to appear on Young’s prescriptions and was paid for supervising the practice, the indictment says. The indictment does not say how much Rudin was paid.

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Syracuse doc arrested at hospital was cited for poor care in another state