Atlanta Journal-Constitution Investigation Finds Chilling New Details Of Doctors Sexually Abusing Patients

ATLANTA, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, April 29, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) publishes another in-depth national investigation that reveals chilling new details about doctors accused of sexually abusing patients. It is available online today at AJC.com/doctors. This is the latest in a groundbreaking analysis of doctors and sex abuse.

The AJC's continuing coverage exposes a widespread issue that goes beyond the high-profile public case of USA Gymnastics national team doctor, Larry Nassar, and the #MeToo movement.

The newspaper's latest report identifies cases of misconduct in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Highlights of the investigation include:

• 450: Doctors whose cases were before medical regulators or courts in 2016-17
• 350: Doctors whose cases involved sexual misconduct with patients
• 100: Doctors whose cases involved employees or sex crimes not related to practice
• 3,500: Doctors publicly accused of sexual violations from 1999 through 2017

"Cases continue to remain obscured because state boards and hospitals handle many sexual misconduct cases in secret, and some public orders are so vaguely worded that patients would not know that a sexual offense occurred," Editor Kevin Riley said.

"No one had accurate data on doctors and sex abuse cases until the AJC reviewed thousands of medical board documents and published its first investigation," Riley continued. "Without our work, many patients may think they are safe because their doctor is prominent and respected."

The AJC's award-winning national series, first published in print and online in 2016, exposes a culture of power, esteem and secrecy that gives doctors license to abuse patients sexually, even at a time when the public has realized other respected institutions, such as the military and the clergy, must be held accountable.

To read the AJC's investigation, go to www.AJC.com/doctors.

About The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the leading source – both in print and online – of news, information and advertising for metropolitan Atlanta, reaching a print and online audience of 1.6 million people each week. Every month, nearly 5.5 million unique visitors access the newspaper's websites, including AJC.com, myAJC.com and accessAtlanta.com. Our newsroom is the largest in Georgia with more than 150 journalists. We report on a metro area that has more than 5 million people and covers five core counties and more than 20 city governments. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is part of Cox Media Group, a publishing, digital media and broadcasting subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises.

About Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing and digital media company. The company's operations currently include 14 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, more than 60 radio stations, two daily newspapers and more than 80 digital sites, including Dawg Nation, SEC Country and Diehards. Additionally, CMG operates the National Advertising Platform businesses of CoxReps – the country's biggest television rep firm – Gamut and Videa. The company also offers a full suite of local and regional advertising services through its Local Solutions and Ideabar businesses. CMG currently operates in more than 20 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly across all platforms, including more than 31 million TV viewers, more than 2 million newspaper readers, and nearly 15 million radio listeners. For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.

SOURCE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution