Former Doctor Gets Prison Term for Attempting Sex Change on O.C. Man

A former doctor whose medical license was revoked because of gross negligence was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for attempting a sex change operation on a young man.

John Ronald Brown, 67, of Chula Vista was found guilty in December of four counts of practicing medicine without a license.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Jesus Rodriguez ordered Brown to pay $10,000 in restitution to the patient, a 30-year-old Orange County man.

Brown’s attorney, Jacqueline Crowle, said he had performed 500 “gender reassignment surgeries” in his 40 years of practice. She urged the judge to grant probation and allow him to return to Mexico. Crowle said Brown was willing to return the $9,300 the victim had paid him for the surgery, which was not completed.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Eichler said Brown was convicted in San Francisco in 1985 of practicing medicine without a license, doing the same type of surgery, and was ordered not to continue. Brown’s license was revoked in 1977, and he unsuccessfully attempted to have it reinstated in 1983, Eichler said.