Team 10 investigation prompts new California law that cracks down on doctor sexual misconduct

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A new California law that was introduced following a Team 10 investigation will prevent some physicians who have a history of patient sexual misconduct from getting their medical licenses reinstated.

But the legislation, which Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law, will not stop all doctors who sexually abuse their patients from working.

“To those that are on probation and that still have their license, it doesn't affect them,” said Marcus Friedman, administrative director for the Consumer Protection Policy Center.

SB 849 will ban the Medical Board of California from reinstating a doctor’s surrendered license if the physician was facing a board accusation of sexual misconduct involving a patient when they handed in their certificate.

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  The medical board alleged he had sex with one patient during a pelvic exam and crossed the line with others.

  Our investigation found that after taking responsibility and going to a 12-step sex addicts’ program, the board reinstated Ghabra’s license, allowing him to practice again.

  In another example, we discovered Dr. Austin Kooba, an OB-GYN who got a patient pregnant and then prescribed her an abortion pill,

  was able to get his medical license reinstated just weeks after AB 1636 went into force.

  “My jaw dropped when I saw it. But it's supposed to take effect. It's supposed to be in the law. It's supposed to protect patients from people like this,” said Marian Hollingsworth, a patient safety advocate, who’s spent years researching doctors who get in trouble with the state medical board.

  The list of physicians who had committed patient sexual abuse surprised Weber Pierson, who was adamant during a sit-down interview with Team 10 their licenses would be pulled upon renewal.

  Law won't apply to physicians on probation

  But the Medical Board of California confirmed the senator’s existing law didn’t have the ability to make that happen, so Weber Pierson went back to the drawing board and introduced SB 849 earlier this year.

  The initial draft of her bill would have automatically revoked a doctor’s license after it was reinstated if they were found by the state board to have committed sexual misconduct.

  But after constitutional concerns were raised, that was removed from the bill.

  Friedman said the new law, which goes into effect next January, may impact the way the medical board issues discipline to doctors in the future.

  

  Amol Brown/Team 10

  “It might change the way that we see discipline be handed down,” he said.

  But Friedman said the legislation will do nothing to doctors who are on probation or have been on probation in the past for sexually abusing their patients.

  “As long as they still have their license, then there's nothing to reinstate.”

  Take Dr. Anthony Bianchi, a former Fallbrook physician, for example.

  Team 10 reported last year that Bianchi still had his medical license despite board findings that he committed sexual abuse and misconduct with three patients over a decade ago.

  According to state medical board records, in 2009, Bianchi pulled a razor from his pocket and told his patient he wanted to shave her genital area. He then said, "You have no idea what you do to me. I had to use a whole bottle of Vaseline.”

  A month later, the doctor didn’t wear gloves as he inserted his fingers into the woman’s vagina at a follow-up appointment, a disciplinary order shows.

  The physician then pulled down his pants, exposed his erect penis and asked the woman to have sex with him, according to the medical board.

  'Every patient deserves to feel safe'

  Medical board spokesperson Alexandria Schembra confirmed the new law won’t impact Bianchi, who previously completed probation. The board’s website currently shows the doctor’s license as renewed and current and lists a Laguna Niguel address for the physician.

  Weber Pierson, who is a practicing doctor herself, told Team 10 the trust between a physician and a patient is fundamental to the health care system.

  “Every patient deserves to feel safe and secure when they walk into a doctor’s office. When serious allegations of misconduct are being investigated and a physician chooses to relinquish their license, they should not be able to use that loophole to regain their license and return to practice later,” she said in a prepared statement.

  Several San Diego doctors impacted

  A spokesperson for Newsom said, “The Governor’s signature speaks for itself,” and deferred our questions to the medical board.

  The exact impact of the new law remains to be seen.

  Team 10 has confirmed the new law will affect several doctors in the San Diego area accused of sexual misconduct who we’ve reported on.

  The list includes Dr. Robert Pendleton, who surrendered his license last year after being accused of committing sexual abuse with a patient.

  

  Amol Brown/Team 10

  It was the Oceanside eye doctor’s second run-in with the state medical board. Our investigation found he previously received a public reprimand for having a sexual relationship with a patient.

  The new law will also mean Dr. Anupam Garg, who was accused of sexual misconduct while working as the medical director of the Scripps Health OB-GYN clinic on Fifth Avenue, will not be able to get his license reinstated.

  He surrendered his license in 2024, months after the board publicly accused him of sexting a patient and failing to have a chaperone present during a breast exam, pap smear and IUD placement.

  Medical board wants more changes

  The medical board told Team 10 it doesn’t have an estimate of how many doctors across the state could be affected by SB 849 and said any petition seeking reinstatement of a revoked or surrendered license will be carefully reviewed to determine whether SB 849 applies.

  Schembra said the agency appreciates Weber Pierson’s work to crack down on doctors who engage in sexual misconduct but has proposed the following additional legislative changes to better protect patients:

  • Prevent issuance of a license to an applicant who has committed criminal sexual offenses in or outside California, including for the commission of crimes that have been dismissed or expunged following a conviction.
  • Mandate license revocation for a licensee who is found by the board to have committed any act of sexual misconduct or sexual exploitation with a current or former patient or client.
  • Prevent someone from seeking reinstatement if their license was revoked because they were convicted of a crime that requires them to register as a sex offender, regardless of their relationship to the victim and the location of the offense.
    

  “Although those changes were not included in SB 849, the board will continue to pursue them with the legislature next year during sunset review,” Schembra said.

  Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish can be reached at austin.grabish@10news.com