Psychiatrist Loses License After Inquiry of Negligence

Newport Beach psychiatrist Burnell Forgey, who lived with a notorious pedophile and allegedly allowed the sex offender to accompany him on visits to youth group homes, has lost his license.

Forgey, 80, was accused in September by the Medical Board of California of several counts of gross negligence for allegedly taking James Lee Crummel, now a murder suspect, with him on professional visits to group homes for troubled youths.

Forgey submitted a document surrendering his license last month without the assistance of an attorney. The medical board approved it Monday. It becomes effective next Monday.

Forgey could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The telephone number to his practice had been disconnected.

In addition to the negligence accusations, Forgey was accused of repeatedly prescribing drugs to Crummel--with no record of Crummel having been examined--and of prescribing drugs for himself.

Forgey’s relationship to Crummel came to light last spring when Newport Beach police, exercising Megan’s law, notified residents of the Newport Crest condominium complex that a convicted sex offender was living in Forgey’s unit, owned by Forgey’s son, Duncan.

Crummel had been convicted of sex crimes in four states dating to the 1960s, one involving a girl and the rest boys, all between the ages of 9 and 14. He had also been convicted of murdering a 9-year-old boy in Arizona in 1983, but the judge ruled that his lawyer had been ineffective and Crummel later pleaded guilty to kidnapping in the case.

Newport Crest residents waged a vehement protest, demanding that Crummel leave. In May, San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies arrested Crummel at the condominium for allegedly molesting three teenagers nine years ago.

Less than a week later, Riverside County authorities filed an arrest warrant accusing Crummel of murdering a Costa Mesa 13-year-old, James Trotter, in 1979.

The medical board began investigating Forgey--who held a medical license on “retired” status, allowing him a part-time practice--upon learning that the psychiatrist allegedly allowed Crummel to act as his assistant during visits to group homes for youths. The weekly or monthly visits occurred from about 1990 through 1994, according to the medical board.

In a 20-page document, the medical board accused Forgey of several counts of “gross negligence,” saying that although he was aware of Crummel’s history as “an aggressive pedophile and registered sex offender,” the psychiatrist placed no restrictions on Crummel’s movements at the group homes.

“Crummel in fact had unrestricted access to the children, their medical records, their files and the entirety of the facilities during these visits,” the accusation states. “On at least two occasions during this period, Crummel entered the private rooms of boys and talked to them.”