SIMI VALLEY : Battery Charges Filed Against Doctor
Prosecutors filed misdemeanor charges against a 51-year-old physician Wednesday who is accused of sexually fondling two women in his Simi Valley office.
David Lounsberry will be arraigned Jan. 13 on two counts of sexual battery, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Bill Karr. The charges stem from incidents that occurred in February and August, 1992, involving an adult patient and a juvenile patient’s mother, he said.
The charges are the result of a joint investigation by the district attorney’s office and the enforcement unit of the Medical Board of California, said Mike Bryan, supervising investigator with the unit.
Bryan said investigative reports will be submitted to the state attorney general’s office this week to determine whether any disciplinary action will be taken against Lounsberry’s license to practice medicine.
Bryan said one of the incidents occurred when a woman brought her young daughter in to see the doctor about a problem with the child’s chest. The second one occurred, he said, during an office examination.
When called Wednesday, an employee in Lounsberry’s office said the doctor would not comment on the charges.
Bryan said the doctor has denied any fondling, insisting that he did nothing beyond proper medical treatment.
In the criminal case, the maximum punishment for each count is six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.
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