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How a doctor convicted in drugs-for-sex case returned to practice
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta's leading newspaper)
Posted: September 23rd, 2018
http://doctors.ajc.com/georgia_convicted_doctor_sex_abuse/
Nearly two decades ago, [Andrew] Dekle was sentenced to four years in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of writing more than 120 illegal prescriptions for women who testified that the drugs were in exchange for sexual favors. The pimp with a prescription pad is what one prosecutor called him during a trial in which it was revealed that more than 400 sexually explicit photos of female patients and other women had been discovered in his office. In some states, where legislatures have enacted laws prohibiting doctors who commit certain crimes from practicing, Dekles career would be over. But in Georgia, where the law gives the medical board the discretion to license anyone it sees fit, he was back in practice two years after leaving prison. The [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] found more than 450 cases in which doctors had sexual contact with patients while also prescribing controlled and addictive substances for them. In more than half, the physicians were allowed to continue practicing. Although its rare for medical regulators to allow doctors convicted in drugs-for-sex cases to keep their licenses, the AJC found instances in Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky where physicians with convictions similar to Dekles were allowed to remain in practice.
Note: See a list of powerful articles revealing egregious and rampant sexual abuse by doctors around the US. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on sexual abuse scandals and health.