Accusers: Pennsylvania missed shot to stop preying pediatrician
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Nearly two decades ago, Pennsylvania regulators were confronted with evidence that a well-regarded pediatrician had fondled the genitals of two small children during office visits. Instead of holding him accountable, regulators let the doctor keep his medical license. He went on to molest at least a dozen more young patients, victimizing children up until the time of his arrest in January, prosecutors say.
Now, as Dr. Johnnie “Jack” Barto sits in jail awaiting trial on sexual assault charges involving more than 30 children, his 1990s-era patients and their parents say the state Board of Medicine failed to stop him when it had the chance. Police, prosecutors and Barto’s own colleagues also deserve blame for looking the other way, they say.
“It could’ve stopped with me,” Lee Ann Berkebile, 28, of Johnstown, said.
Barto, 71, was arrested in January and charged with groping a 12-yearold girl during an office visit several weeks earlier. Suspecting she might not be alone, the Pennsylvania attorney general called for other accusers to come forward — and dozens did, with claims going back to the 1980s.
Barto has pleaded not guilty. If the charges hold up, the case will represent another black mark against a profession that’s long had trouble policing itself over sexual misconduct.
“Without consequences, we cannot really solve the problem. You don’t have enough deterrence out there,” Public Citizen health researcher Azza Abudagga said.
The Pennsylvania Department of State, which provides legal and administrative support to the board and prosecutes administrative cases of doctor misconduct, said in a statement that “the Board of Medicine takes allegations of sexual misconduct by professional licensees very seriously.” But the board does not keep statistics on how often it punishes doctors accused of sexual misconduct, so it’s difficult to judge how seriously it has treated sexual abuse — either then or now.
Lee Ann Berkebile was just 4 years old when her mother took her to see the pediatrician in 1994 for a runny nose and cough. At the end of the appointment, Barto offered to walk Lee Ann down the hall to a medicine closet. It was then, Berkebile said, that Barto molested her.
The girl told her mother, who went to the county child welfare agency. The case was referred to Johnstown police. A sergeant interviewed Lee Ann and her parents but did not file charges, citing her age, according to documents from state archives.
Four years after Berkebile alleges she was molested, another patient, 3-year-old Kelsey Bowman, had an appointment with Barto. At the end of it, Barto sat Kelsey, who wore a T-shirt, socks and nothing else, on his lap.
Her mother, Kelli Bowman, who was also in the exam room, said Kelsey gave a sudden jerk, and she saw Barto’s hand on her daughter’s groin. Bowman grabbed her daughter and left.
This time, authorities took action. Barto faced administrative charges — not only for touching Kelsey, but for the earlier incident involving Berkebile.
Stripped of his license after a hearing, Barto appealed to the Board of Medicine, an independent body in charge of licensing and discipline. The board dismissed the accusers’ accounts on a 7-2 vote and said Barto could resume his career.