Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 27, 1993 TAG: 9301270224
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUGLAS PARDUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
GRAY HAS CALIF. LICENSE, COULD STILL PRACTICE
William Gray says he surrendered his license to practice medicine in Virginia only because he was afraid he could not get a fair trial on charges that he used his child psychiatry practice to force sex on five young men."It stinks," Gray says of the agreement this month that allowed him to avoid criminal prosecution and a Gray possible life sentence.
Gray says he wanted to go to trial so he could prove he was innocent. But he says he and his attorneys were concerned because of the nature of the allegations and the number of charges. As much as he wanted to prove he was innocent, Gray says, he was afraid "they'll find you guilty of something."
Under the deal, Gray gave up his medical license forever in Virginia, and Franklin County Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood agreed to drop all of 16 forcible sodomy and sexual abuse charges against him.
Although Gray gave up his license in Virginia, he says he still has a medical license in other states, and did not rule out the possibility of resuming his practice somewhere else. "I'm still a physician. . . . I'm still licensed."
One of the states in which Gray was licensed is North Carolina. But his license to practice there was suspended last March after medical authorities were notified that Virginia had suspended his license.
The Virginia Board of Medicine suspended Gray's license on March 6 as a result of the sexual-abuse allegations.
Gray wouldn't reveal in what other states he has a license, but the American Medical Association says the only other state is California.
Lynn Thornton, acting deputy chief of enforcement for the Medical Board of California, said Tuesday that Gray's license is valid and the California board has no knowledge of Virginia's action. She said she planned to check, but for the time being Gray can practice in California.
In 1978, Gray faced child molestation charges in San Diego, but he avoided prosection by agreeing not to practice in California for three years. He ended up moving his practice to Virginia.
Although the Virginia medical board did not tell California that it suspended Gray's license, Virginia followed normal notification procedures. The Virginia board listed Gray's license suspension with the Federation of State Medical Boards. The federation runs a nationwide system that was set up several years ago to prevent doctors who lose licenses in one state from simply moving to another. However, as in the California case, some states don't properly monitor the disciplinary actions and some don't adequately report actions.
In addition to notifying the federation about Gray, Virginia's medical board notified 18 other federal, state and private organizations, including the American Medical Association, several insurance companies, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Virginia State Police.
In an interview at his Old Southwest Roanoke office Tuesday, Gray accused both Roanoke police and state medical board officials of subjecting him to "systematic harassment." He said Roanoke vice squad officers had been spreading rumors about him for eight years, telling people "I was gay or a child molester." Police denied any such activity.
Gray, 51, says he is neither gay nor a child molester, but has met a lot of supportive gay people as a result of the accusations.
The charges against him are based on troubled and unreliable young men who were badgered and intimidated by authorities into testifying against him, Gray says. He doesn't know why authorities are out to get him, but says "they don't have a case, never had, and still don't have one."
He says he plans to "sue the hell out of everybody. . . . I'll present my side in civil suits." He may also ask for a federal civil rights violation investigation, he says.
Gray accuses Roanoke police of continuing to harass him. He says officers roughed him up and caused him to go to a hospital for treatment Thursday, after he called police to report that someone was trying to break into his office.
When police arrived, Gray wouldn't talk to them. Later, when they questioned two men in a car in Gray's driveway, Gray came outside and ordered the officers to get off his property. He was arrested when he refused to stay away from the officers, police said.
Gray says police knocked him to the floor of his porch and caused him to injure his neck, which was in a brace because of disc surgery last month.
Police say Gray fell down when he resisted.
Although Gray no longer can practice medicine in Virginia, Gray says he plans to stay for a while. Even if he could continue psychiatry, he says, he doesn't feel up to it because the allegations and investigation "affected my attitude toward people."
Gray says he can support himself on various investments, including real estate. He says he also is a part owner of a Brazilian restaurant in Charlottesville and plans to expand it to include a nightclub featuring Brazilian music.