‘FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED’
Law Boston, a private law school in Massachusetts.
“We know you cannot actually freely consent in such a power disparate relationship,” Murphy said. “There are innumerable reasons why you should never accept that as a defense and why, of course, we have ethical rules in place.”
The last time White abused Lamont was in October 2015, Lamont later wrote. Lamont was living with his parents and they were out of town so White came over.
The doctor sensed his reluctance during the encounter, Lamont wrote, and upon leaving told him that he felt “icky” about the sexual encounters.
Lamont felt something far worse. “When he left, I felt a deep sense of death wash over me,” Lamont wrote.
Nearly 16 months passed after Lamont’s last encounter with White.
Then in January or February of 2017, Lamont felt like he was having a heart attack. An ambulance was called and emergency medical workers told him his heart seemed fine.
What Lamont thought was a heart attack was actually a panic attack brought on by the abuse, he later wrote. At that moment, Lamont decided to tell his parents about White.
His father insisted Lamont tell police. But the Turner family said police never pursued charges.
By the time Lamont opened up to his parents, a civil lawsuit wasn’t an option either. Under Ohio law, adult victims of sexual abuse only have a one- to two-year window during which they can file a civil lawsuit.
Lamont confronted White about the abuse and the doctor blamed him for it, he told his father. Lamont felt like there was nothing he could do, his family said.
“Knowing what my son went through, I watched him talk to police and do everything like you’re supposed to do,” James Turner said. “He said nobody cares.”
Lamont taught English at Linden Mckinley STEM Academy. Although he loved his job, he needed a change, according to his parents.
So, he looked abroad and in 2018 left the Columbus area to teach English as a second language in Thailand.
But his family said Lamont felt like he still couldn’t escape the PTSD he suffered because of White’s abuse. He told his mom he was having nightmares about it and would sometimes wake up with a fever.
“Well, you probably need to finish what you started here by bringing justice to Dr. White,” Andrea Turner said she told her son.
After a year abroad, Lamont came home. It became clear rather quickly though, that he was still suffering.
He sought help from therapists and started talking more about death, his family said.
One time, he told his sister that when he died he didn’t think he wanted a funeral.
But Lamont played the conversation off as if he was joking around. It was a small detail that seemed insignificant in the moment that the family would later come to believe was a sign of what Lamont planned to do.
In the days before Lamont’s death, his father was traveling for work, driving a semi-truck.
James Turner wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he needed to call his son and check in. When Lamont picked up the phone, he told his father he was fine, his father said.
“It was really strange,” James Turner said. “Early that morning … I got up and I prayed. My prayer was simple: Lord, protect my family and watch over my family.”
Lamont’s death capped a difficult two years during which, his family said, he struggled to move on from the abuse.
After Lamont died, the Turners gave their son’s writings to the State Medical Board of Ohio. The abuse, Lamont wrote, led him to have suicidal thoughts, severe anxiety and caused him to withdraw from the people he cared about the most.
“As my son said, the victims suffer while the perpetrators continue to live their life and go on as if nothing’s happened,” Andrea Turner said.
During a medical board probe, White admitted to investigators in September 2020 that he engaged in sexual conduct with a patient on two occasions, records show.
The board cited White for sexual misconduct in November 2021. Then, on May 11 2022, the board fined White $6,000 and suspended his license for one year.
It was the lowest fine and the shortest suspension the board can require of a physician for sexual misconduct that includes physical contact, according to state guidelines.
The Turners praised the board for taking some action. But they questioned why the punishment wasn’t more severe and wondered if physicians on the medical board should be judging fellow doctors.
“They circle the wagons,” said Lamont’s grandmother, Virginia Jacobs.