Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 12, 1993 TAG: 9306120009
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUGLAS PARDUE and CAROLYN CLICK STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Roanoke doctor forced sex on the young men, some of whom were juveniles, by playing on their fears that he would "send them away" to mental hospitals, the hearing officer, Tony Giorno, said in his 32-page report to the medical board. He said Gray also plied them with free food, housing and cars.
"I find that Gray engaged in sexual activity, including fondling, mutual masturbation and sodomy with [four patients]. I further find that Gray engaged in criminal sexual activity, including sodomy and sexual battery with a nonpatient," Giorno said.
"Even in the absence of a physician/patient relationship, and even assuming that the acts of fellatio and anal intercourse were consensual, they are, nevertheless, felonies," said Giorno, the Patrick County commonwealth's attorney appointed as the hearing officer for the case.
The Board of Medicine is expected to review the report and decide in October whether to permanently revoke Gray's license. The report, released Friday, ended a year of inquiry and testimony before the administrative hearing officer.
Gray, who claims he is the victim of a conspiracy by a group of disgruntled, emotionally disturbed patients, has not been allowed to practice medicine for the past 15 months pending the outcome of the investigation.
Gray has characterized himself as a father figure wrongly accused by angry, immature children who had tried to blackmail him for money.
Giorno agreed that all of Gray's accusers are "socially dysfunctional, with histories of acute mental disorders," but he dismissed Gray's conspiracy theory, calling it "patently absurd."
"I doubt that any of the complainants are mentally or emotionally capable of conspiring with anyone," he said.
Although Giorno found criminal misconduct in Gray's relationship with his patients, he rejected the board's claim that Gray improperly prescribed drugs and violated medical ethics by providing housing and other favors to patients.
Giorno said Gray, the son of missionaries, often got too close to his patients because of "a genuine desire to help these people." Although Giorno backed up the board's contention that Gray kept inadequate patient and drug prescription records, he found that to be the unintentional result of a massive patient load.
"Faced by the crush of patients, it is very easy to let `paperwork' go undone," Giorno said.
John Grad, Gray's Alexandria lawyer, dismissed Giorno's findings of sexual misconduct as "preposterous."
Grad said it is difficult to understand why Giorno believed the sexual allegations of "disreputable liars" and discounted their testimony that Gray also provided them recreational drugs and alcohol.
Some of the young men have recanted portions of their earlier testimony that Gray used them as sex slaves by plying them with drugs, cars, housing and money in exchange for sexual favors.
Gray's legal difficulties began last year when Roanoke County authorities charged him with misdemeanor sexual battery.
Those charges were thrown out, but then Gray was indicted in Franklin County on felony charges of having sex with young males at his Smith Mountain Lake home.
The Franklin County charges were dropped after Gray agreed to surrender forever his license to practice in Virginia.
The board, however, rejected Gray's offer, contending that a suspension instead of a revocation might allow him to practice in other states. That decision set the hearing process in motion.
Gray's troubles with the medical board are not his first. Fifteen years ago, Gray agreed not to practice medicine in California for three years to avoid prosecution on child molestation charges.
by CNB