Doctor Charged with Molesting Patients

Dr. Kevin Antario Brown, 37, was charged with a total of 19 counts, including rape, performing a lewd act on a 15-year-old child, sexual battery by fraud and sexual exploitation. All his victims were former patients including an undercover officer who was investigating the case. If convicted he could spend more than 25 years behind bars. See TV news coverage here.

Dr. Brown is a general practitioner medical doctor formerly practicing medicine at the Crenshaw Expo Medical Center, 3631 Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles.

His problems all began when an unidentified 18-year-old girl complained to the police, in June 2007, that Dr. Brown had touched her inappropriately during a medical examination. The police launched a year-long investigation, using an undercover officer to pose as one of his patients. She was also molested.

Dr Kevin Antario Brown was arrested July 8 at his Los Angeles home and was initially charged with sexually molesting a female patient and a female undercover police officer. He was subsequently freed on $50,000 bail.

However, after his arrest more people came forward, claiming he also sexually molested them. Dr Brown was arrested again, this time on 19 felony counts including: performing a lewd act on a 15-year-old child, rape, sexual battery by fraud and sexual exploitation. The alleged crimes occurred between Nov. 6, 2006, and this May 31 2008. Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Ann Marie Wise, of the sex crimes division, said:

"Since we filed the charges, we have been flooded with phone calls, both from other alleged victims and from other agencies, saying: 'By the way, we are looking at him for this.'"

Ann Marie Wise also said that there were more people involved than anticipated and that the investigation was not yet over and more charges were likely.

"We were certainly expecting additional women to come forward, but the number has been probably higher than we would usually expect in this sort of investigation. We didn't want to rush and file all of them [alleged victims] all at once. We have finished interviewing some of the women, and others have come forward in the past two days and we haven't spoken to them yet."

Bail was set at $4 million as requested by the prosecution. They considered Dr Brown to be a flight risk. His father, Ewart Brown, is the premier of the island of Bermuda and they feared that he might try to flee there to avoid prosecution.

According to reports, an affidavit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court says that Dr. Brown is being investigated for allegedly over-prescribing the opiate painkiller Oxycontin. No charges have yet been filed in that case. Investigators are also probing Dr. Brown's alleged role in a multi-million dollar medical fraud, the affidavit says. In recent years, doctors have been convicted of making fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal and Medi-Care - two bodies set up to provide medical aid to the poor.

Special Agent J. Timothy Fives, of the Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse unit in the California Attorney General's Office, said that during a raid on another doctor's home in October, investigators obtained a list of those allegedly involved in the fraud. Dr. Brown's name was on the list, Mr. Fives said. He says that doctors already convicted of fraud have told him that Dr. Brown recruited them into the scheme adding:

"Physicians have stated during interviews that they paid Dr. Brown a percentage of their income from fraudulent Medi-Cal and Medi-Care claims in payment for him setting them up in business."

On top of his work as a doctor, Dr. Brown runs the Urban Health Institute, a charity set up to provide disaster relief in the U.S., Africa and elsewhere. The charity attracted controversy earlier this year when it was revealed Premier Ewart Brown used taxpayers' funds to help sponsor a party thrown to benefit the charity. The Premier was a guest of his son at the charity poker event, held at the Playboy Mansion in L.A.

Premier Ewart Brown of Bermuda continues to have faith in his son saying: “I have been in touch with him and he denies the charges and we trust that he will be exonerated.”