DA drops charges against doctor accused of molesting child
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg on Friday dismissed charges against a Houston doctor accused of molesting a child patient in 2014, formally clearing his name after courts found blatant misconduct by previous prosecutors.
The move officially ends all criminal proceedings against Dr. Robert Joseph Yetman, who was facing up to 20 years in prison after being charged with indecency with a child under Ogg’s predecessor, Devon Anderson.
Yetman, 56, and his attorney Stan Schneider, vehemently denied any wrongdoing and went to trial in 2015.
At the end of a two-week trial, the prosecutors, who were losing, purposely sabotaged the proceedings by claiming that child, who is black, was victimized by the white doctor because of his race, a judge ruled.
Yetman was granted a mistrial, and the trial judge issued a blistering order slamming the prosecutors.
In December, an appeals court agreed that the sabotage was intentional and ruled that Yetman could not be prosecuted again, because of the constitutional protections against double-jeopardy.
On Friday, the district attorney’s office said it would not appeal that ruling and dismissed the charges against Yetman.
“We do not tolerate professional misconduct, lapses in discipline or excessive zeal to win a case at all costs,” Ogg said in a news release. “A prosecutor’s special responsibility is to see that justice is done, not simply to win, and never do so illegally.”
After she was elected, Ogg fired the two trial prosecutors, along with about 40 others.
When Yetman was arrested, Memorial Hermann and the University of Texas Health Science Center, where he is a professor, suspended him. Several top administrators testified on his behalf at trial and the evidence showed that he was never alone with the young patient.
Yetman returned to his job in December when the appeals court agreed that he could not be retried.
Schneider said Yetman was glad that the “debilitating” ordeal is finally over.
“It’s unfortunate that Dr. Yetman was victimized by the system,” Schneider said. “He was the victim.”