Doctor on leave, faces sex assault allegations
Says his ‘estranged’ identical twin faces similar accusations.
Dr. Ryan Williams, CLEVELAND — a former Cleveland Clinic doctor placed on administrative leave from his job at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center for investigation of previous sexual assault allegations, says he’s “horrified” by similar accusations against his identical twin.
Ryan’s twin, Dr. Bryan Williams, practiced as an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist in Maryland until his license was permanently revoked there last month following sexual assault allegations from seven patients.
Ryan, a colorectal surgeon, was recently placed on leave from OSU Wexner, where he started practicing in August after leaving the Clinic. Two patients have accused Ryan of sexual assault during examinations at the Clinic in 2008 and 2009, allegations first reported by USA Today on Jan. 5. He has not been charged with a crime.
In both cases, the hospital systems that employed the Williams brothers at the time of the alleged assaults stand accused by their patients of failing to respond in a way that would quickly and adequately protect other potential victims.
The 44-year-old brothers contest the accusations. Ryan told The Plain Dealer he is “essentially estranged” from his brother and hasn’t had any meaningful contact with him in at least five years. Ryan said his twin cut off contact with everyone in their family, and he does not know why.
Bryan could not be reached for comment, and his lawyers did not respond to requests to speak about his case. However, in hearings before the medical board, he has denied the allegations.
The Williams brothers are identical twins, so similar in appearance “you couldn’t tell them apart for anything,” according to a basketball coach and an administrator at their Michigan high school. The brothers attended Portage Northern High school in Portage, Michigan, and were basketball stars and standout students, according to a former teammate.
They both attended Albion College and then received their medical degrees from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine; Ryan in 2000 and Bryan in 2002.
Ryan said the two have never been really close, however. “We did attend the same [college] but we only lived together for one year.”
Ryan learned about the allegations against his brother through friends that live near Bryan, he said. Ryan said he did not speak to his brother about the case, or about the accusations against himself.
“I through the years have reached out previously with no response. After a while I just stopped trying,” Ryan said.
Bryan Williams, accused in Maryland
Bryan was accused by at least seven women of inappropriate sexual conduct during examinations starting in 2013. The doctor was working at Kaiser Permanente in Largo and Kensington, Maryland, at the time, according to disciplinary records filed with the state medical board.
Bryan’s medical license was permanently revoked in Maryland in December of 2017 following almost two years of hearings. His license to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia has been suspended.
Seven patients told the state medical board the doctor inappropriately touched them during examinations, and the board concluded that Bryan sexually violated four of the patients. The violations included both anal and vaginal penetration, as well as fondling.
The Maryland-based physician denied the allegations during a hearing before that state’s medical board and argued against the credibility of the patients making complaints. In one case, Bryan defended himself by saying he could not have digitally penetrated the anus of a patient in the way she described because she was too “large.” In another, he said the patient lacked credibility because she did not recall if the doctor was seated or standing when she says he fondled her genitals with an ungloved hand.
He also proposed a suspension, rather than a permanent revocation of his medical license, as a more appropriate punishment.
No criminal charges have been filed against Bryan.
He has been named in multiple malpractice lawsuits, along with his former employer, Kaiser Permanente. The suits allege sexual assault and that Kaiser allowed the doctor to continue practicing after being made aware of the first allegation, according to news reports. Bryan was fired in October of 2014.
In an emailed statement Kaiser said, “the safety of our patients is our highest priority, and we have no tolerance for behavior that puts our patients at risk.” The health system said it has reached out to each patient who has made allegations against Bryan “and sought to address their concerns.”
Ryan Williams, accused in Westlake
Ryan, who started working at the Clinic in 2006, was accused by two women while working at a hospital location in Westlake.
Two patients, Lachelle Duncan and Kristin Fehr, accused Ryan of anally raping them in 2008 and in 2009, according to police reports and interviews with Fehr. Duncan sued the Clinic and came to a confidential settlement agreement with the health system, according to court documents. Fehr said she contacted the Clinic but then called the Westlake Police Department after feeling discouraged by the Clinic’s investigation.
No criminal charges have been filed against Ryan.
Ryan maintains his innocence. “Multiple authorities and parties found that I did nothing wrong and nothing suggestive of doing anything wrong, and I was found innocent,” he said. “It’s been very devastating and heartbreaking.”
His wife, Bridget, said Ryan has cooperated completely and that it’s difficult for the family to be under public scrutiny again.
“Anyone that knows him who saw the article wouldn’t even question [his innocence],” she said. “We have a community of our church, friends, neighbors and family that I didn’t have to say anything to.”
Fehr has accused the Clinic of failing to act when alerted to sexual assault allegations against the doctor, and leaving him to practice for years and potentially harm other patients.
“Initially, I figured I’d go to the Cleveland Clinic, and they would handle it. They just covered it up,” Fehr told The Plain Dealer. “They didn’t fire the doctor.”
Fehr told the Plain Dealer she wanted to sue Ryan, but she can no longer file a medical malpractice claim, as the one-year statute of limitations has expired. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office declined to present criminal charges to a grand jury in 2016, according to police reports.
The Clinic said in a statement last week that the hospital system immediately reported the accusations to appropriate law enforcement agencies and “cooperated fully with the investigations.”