Rape Case Against Van Nuys Doctor Dismissed

A rape charge was dismissed Wednesday against a physician who was accused of attacking a 40-year-old woman on an examining table in his Van Nuys office.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge David D. Perez, saying the woman’s story was implausible, granted a pretrial defense motion to dismiss the case for lack of evidence.

The doctor, Abraham Alfred Mekelburg, 66, who lives in Encino, said after the ruling that he was “very pleased and grateful” that the charge had been dropped.

“It was a terrible emotional strain on me and my family,” Mekelburg said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan M. Speer said her office was reviewing the case to determine whether to appeal the judge’s ruling.

Reversed Ruling

The prosecutor said she believes the evidence warranted a trial and noted that a Municipal Court judge had found the woman’s testimony credible at a preliminary hearing last August. Perez reversed the ruling by Judge Aviva K. Bobb, saying he reached a different conclusion after reviewing the transcript of the hearing.

The alleged victim testified at the preliminary hearing that Mekelburg raped her after she went to his Sepulveda Boulevard office about 5 p.m. last March 11 seeking treatment for a cut hand.

She said she screamed during the attack, then raced out of his office crying and sought treatment at a hospital.

However, the defense presented several witnesses at the preliminary hearing who said they were sitting in a waiting room outside Mekelburg’s office about the time the woman said she was attacked, but did not see her or hear any sounds of distress.

Prepared to Call Witnesses

Mekelburg, a general practitioner, has maintained that he was not in his office that afternoon, but was at home preparing for a speaking engagement. His attorney, Richard A. Moss, said Wednesday that the defense was prepared to present witnesses who would have corroborated Mekelburg’s alibi.

According to the doctor’s office records, Moss said, the woman was not in his office at all that day. She had, however, been a patient of the doctor for several years, Moss said, adding that he could think of no reason why she would fabricate charges.

“Her story was fraught with inconsistency and impossibility,” Moss said.

“Dr. Mekelburg is an innocent man. He was unjustly accused.”