Doctors take an oath to save life whenever possible. They are people we trust and share personal information with.
We want to believe doctors are individuals who will not take advantage of us or engage in harassing behavior.
Sadly, however, that isn’t always the case. A horrifying new case coming out of Ohio has seen medical doctor Donald Gronbeck stripped of his license after being charged with numerous counts of sexual assault.
What are the Charges?
Gronbeck is facing over 50 charges for allegedly raping, sexually assaulting, sexually blackmailing, and sexually harassing his patients.
He allegedly raped over 15 of his patients while he was working for Antioch College in Ohio in the past.
A 12-month investigation turned up evidence of Gronbeck’s assaults while he was at Antioch, as well as working in his own practice located in the town of Yellow Springs.
The charges are disturbing; if convicted, Gronbeck is looking at a long time in jail. He already had his medical license pulled in February for sleeping with one of his patients and allegedly sexually battering eight more of his patients.
He is also accused of writing up prescriptions that were not needed for other coworkers to take as a recreational drug.
Gronbeck, who was already suspended from medicine, was arrested last Friday to face the slew of charges against him.
Donald A. Gronbeck is accused of sexually assaulting 15 women over a 9-year span, either at his former Yellow Springs practice or at Antioch College, where he was providing medical services https://t.co/Iy9VWgvBzC
— Springfield News-Sun (@springfieldnews) October 24, 2022
The Complaints Stacked Up
Gronbeck had a few complaints against him, but it took until now for him to finally be put into cuffs. Over the years, the amount of patients saying he sexually accosted and raped them began to grow, including students at the college where he’d been a doctor.
After searching his private clinic, police also looked into numerous other complaints coming from his medical practice off campus before laying the charges.
Ohio AG Dave Yost referred to the accusations against Gronbeck “incredibly graphic” and said that they include an audio recording of one of Gronbeck’s rapes.
For his part, Gronbeck’s lawyer John Rion says what really happened is very different.
We will wait to see what the defense comes up with here, but there’s no doubt when facing this many charges, it’s no easy task to defend against them.
Former Antioch College doctor arrested on 50 sex crime charges | #College. | #Students https://t.co/AaMXGFqQ9c
— Parent Security (@ParentSecurity) October 27, 2022
The Key Takeaway
The key takeaway here is sexual assault doesn’t always occur in the places we might imagine, like an alley late at night or a taxicab.
It can happen in the trusted confines of a doctor’s office and somewhere private that isn’t expected or prepared for.
This is part of how accused predators like Gronbeck operate, using the element of surprise to pounce on their trusting victims and violate them.
Here’s hoping all victims in this case receive justice for the trauma done to them.
