Newport Beach doctor who treats LGBTQ+ community charged with sexually assaulting 9 male patients
SANTA ANA, Calif. - Authorities charged a Newport Beach infectious disease doctor, who specializes in treating members of the LGBTQ+ community, with sexually assaulting nine male victims. The assaults were allegedly perpetrated under the guise of "necessary medical exams," according to authorities.
William Thompson IV of Huntington Beach was charged with sexually assaulting nine male patients between 2016 and 2020, including forcing a male patient to orally copulate him and performing medically unnecessary anal exams.
According to his website, Thompson "provides general practitioner services to the LGBTQ+ Community." He is affiliated with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.
"Many of Dr. Thompson’s patients depended on him to provide life-saving care and he exploited those vulnerabilities for his own sexual gratification," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. "Unfortunately, because of his specialized area of practice, Dr. Thompson put the very patients he was supposed to treat with professionalism and dignity, in a situation where they may have felt they had no other choice but to be subjected to sexual abuse in order to receive the treatment they needed to continue to live. A doctor’s office should be a place where patients can safely share their most personal vulnerabilities without having to fear they will be preyed upon by a sexual predator. No one should be violated in such a shameful way by someone who has taken an oath to protect their patients."
Dr. William Thompson IV
Thompson is scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 2, 2023, at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach and is currently out on $100,000 bond. The 56-year-old faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life, plus 25 years if convicted on all counts.
Police are asking for the public's help in providing additional information regarding other potential victims. Anyone with additional information about Thompson’s activities or any other potential victims are asked to call the Newport Beach Police Department at 949-644-3682. Anonymous tips can also be made to 1-800-550-6273.