INDIANAPOLIS — Two central Indiana doctors cannot practice medicine after the state's medical licensing board voted to suspend their licenses Thursday.
Editor's note: This story includes references to accusations that some readers may find disturbing.
The cases brought to the board by the attorney general's office are very different.
The state calls plastic surgeon Dr. Scott Mimms "a clear and present danger" after one of his patients died the day after having liposuction.
The second, Grant County OB/GYN Dr. William David Moore, is facing accusations that he sexually assaulted former patients.
During the board hearing, multiple alleged victims of Moore came forward to testify.
"This is inexcusable and cannot happen to one more person," said a person listed as "Victim 3," testifying in front of the medical licensing board.
Inside the hearing room, members of the board listened to the emotional testimony of women who say Moore, their OB/GYN, sexually assaulted them and took pictures they didn't consent to.
In the room, Moore sat quietly. His attorney, Ronald Mingus, told the board the allegations aren't true.
"He's retired and he is not planning to treat patients, but he is not going to admit to allegations that are untrue," said Mingus.
Five women came forward Thursday to testify before the board about what they say happened to them inside his office.
The first woman told the board she went to see Moore last April. She said during her exam, he touched her inappropriately. He also told her he would need to take pictures.
"He mentioned that if anyone ever sees these, they won't know that they're you and I found that very perplexing. As I'm laying there, he puts the speculum in and I hear a click of a shutter. I immediately started to panic inside," said Victim 1.
She testified that she was shocked and told the board she made a follow-up appointment, knowing she'd never come back again, and walked out of his office.
“I got to my car and I said out loud, 'What just happened?'” Victim 1 said.
Tears filled her eyes as she explained what happened in Moore's office. She said she immediately told her therapist and her husband. Later that summer, she filed a complaint with the attorney general's office and with Indiana State Police.
"I was so confused," she said. "Why would a physician take photographs of my genitals?"
In December, Victim 1 said she posted on Facebook, saying that a gynecologist sexually assaulted her during an exam and took photos of her genitals without her consent. Soon after, she began receiving messages from women asking if it was Dr. Moore. One of the women who reached out to her was Victim 3.
Victim 3 told the board she had gone into see Moore for a postpartum checkup in the weeks after giving birth. She said during her exam, he touched her inappropriately.
"I was nursing at the time, 48 days postpartum. He made my nipple erect and squeezed my nipple to the point where it expressed milk," Victim 3 said, telling the board she had expressed no concern over her lactation or anything else that would have led Moore to take that step.
After talking to investigators about her experience, she learned that there were photos of her in her medical file that she'd had no idea existed.
"It was incredibly shocking to see that photo. Not only was it a photo of my genitalia, it was a photo of myself being held apart by one gloved hand and one ungloved hand," said Victim 3. That photo convinced her to share her story.
"I have a 14-year-old daughter. If that hadn't happened, I might have taken her to him," Victim 3 said.
Victim 2 told the board she, too, had messaged Victim 1 after seeing the post on Facebook. She said she'd had concerning experiences with Moore of her own during pelvic exams.
“As I was laying down on the table and he was performing the exam, he made a comment to me that really scared me. He said, ‘If you are not sexually active within the next year, I will have to manually break your hymen because it’s hard for me to see down there.' He didn’t explain what that would entail but it did really scare me,” said Victim 2.
She reached out to investigators and was shocked to find photos in her file, as well.
“In the 2017 photos, there is a picture where there is a paper draping over my genitalia. But Dr. Moore is not wearing gloves. His left hand is on top of my vagina and his right hand is on top of my upper thigh,” Victim 2 said.
In all, five former patients of Moore came forward to testify about concerning experiences.
Indiana Deputy Attorney General Carah Rochester asked ISP Det. Joshua Maller if there may be more victims out there.
"Have any other women made reports to the state police regarding Dr. Moore?" Rochester asked.
"Yes," Maller said.
"Approximately how many?" she asked.
"Approximately 50," Maller responded.
Under nearly all of Rochester's questions, Moore chose to plead the Fifth Amendment.
"You took photographs of the genitals and breasts of women under 18 years old, correct?" Rochester asked.
"I'm respectfully not going to answer that question pursuant to my right against self-incrimination," Moore responded.
ISP told the AG's office and the board there is an ongoing investigation into Moore.
Following Thursday's hearing, the medical licensing board voted to suspend Moore's license.
Earlier in the day Thursday, the board also voted to suspend Mimms' license.
The attorney general's office told the board he is responsible for the death of a patient who died in November after the doctor performed liposuction. Additional complaints made to the AG's office say other patients may have died as a result of his care as well.
"As a medical professional, I also know we have to be accountable for all reactions, so I completely understand that. I just ask that you look at all the information and not make any decisions before we can get a full investigation," Mimms said during the hearing.
"He's failed to use licensed anesthesiologists and other providers to protect his patients and there's a general lack of oversight of his facilities that make him a clear and immediate danger," a deputy attorney general told the board.
As for whether or not criminal charges would be filed in this case, it's not clear right now. ISP told 13News it does not discuss the subject of an investigation until an arrest is made or charges are filed.
The Indiana Attorney General's Office released the following statement to 13News:
"One of the important roles of the Office of the Attorney General is to ensure licensed professionals act according to and follow the law. In these cases, the doctors did not and failed their patients. Instead, they violated their patients and their patients' rights. The Medical Licensing Board worked late into the evening and made the right decision to suspend Dr. Moore and Dr. Mimms and revoke Dr. Jenison's license. The actions taken protect consumers and is a step in the right direction for closure for the victims."