A civil lawsuit has been filed in Suffolk Superior Court against Dr. Melvin D. Levine, who was chief of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in the 1970s. the suit alleges that Levine sexually assaulted, battered and abused the plaintiff known as John Doe
Levine now works as a pediatrics professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine as well as the director of the school’s Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in the Suffolk Superior Court, Levine is accused of molesting an eight year old boy in the 1980's.
Levine's attorney, Ted Mahoney, read from a prepared statement saying his client denies all charges, stating that Levine, "categorically denies that he has ever been abusive in any way toward any patient” and is “distressed” about claims based on the distorted or misrepresented memories from decades past."
According to the complaint (9 page PDF) filed by John Doe 5, the seven men accusing Levine of sexual abuse, ranged from 5 to 13 years old, when the alleged abuse began.
The complaint also alleges that, "Levine, during his treatment sessions, under the guise of performing repeated but unnecessary physical examinations, sexually assaulted John No. 5, including numerous acts of genital fondling, masturbation, and other attempted and threatened acts of assault."
John Doe no. 5 is 36 years old now and claims his memories of being abused were triggered when he brought his own child to a doctor’s appointment recently and was "overwhelmed" at the thought of leaving his child alone with a doctor.
The complaint goes on to specify the ages of each complainant at the time of the alleged abuses as well as the abuses themselves. (Staring on page 7 of the PDF and ending on page 8)
Levine is considered one of the country’s leading authorities in childhood development and he founded "All Kinds of Minds", which is a nonprofit organization that studies different styles of learning among children.
The is the fourth lawsuit brought against Levine from Boston attorney Carmen Durso who represents the alleged victims.
Durso filed two other complaints in 2005 one in 2006, on behalf of a total of four of Levine’s former minor patients who claim Levine sexually abused them in the 1970s and 1980s. Those cases are pending in Suffolk Superior Court.
Durso states, "These kids had serious issues and they sought treatment. In the course of treatment, he was sexually abusing them. Certainly, all (the victims) have had ups and downs in life; they were all affected in different ways. The person who is accused is a high-profile person who has done some good things. These people are independently saying essentially the same thing. That brings credibility to the situation."
Children's Hospital has also been named in the lawsuit and they issued a statement as well saying the Levine never, "had any complaint from any patient or parent of any patient suggesting inappropriate conduct of any nature by Dr. Levine."
The complete statement from the Children's Hospital Boston can be found here.
The prepared statement from Levine's attorney can be found here.
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