Cleveland Clinic Kept Surgeon Who Allegedly Raped 2 Patients On Staff

Cleveland Clinic kept one of its surgeons on staff despite knowing he was accused of raping his patients, a report alleged Friday.

USA Today reported that Ryan Williams, a colorectal surgeon — who was previously employed with the Clinic — was accused of anally raping two women during medical procedures in 2008 and 2009. The report stated the hospital kept him on the payroll despite the allegations, while reaching a settlement.

Williams left the hospital in June, but the circumstances surrounding his departure were unclear. He then joined the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and was placed on administrative leave after the accusations came to light. Officials at Wexner said they did not know about the "disturbing allegations" when they hired Williams over the summer.

A Cleveland Clinic spokeswoman said his exit "was unrelated" to the rape allegations, adding: "We don't normally discuss personnel matters publicly."

The report cited from a 2008 Westlake, Ohio, police department report which described one of the patients, Lachelle Duncan’s, encounter with Williams. He was performing a rectal exam on Duncan when she jumped because she said Williams had inserted his penis into her rectum. She also saw him holding his genitals in his hand.

When she asked the doctor why he did it, he replied, "I don't know," Duncan told a medical assistant, the police report stated. Despite her pressing charges, Williams wasn’t criminally prosecuted. Duncan then sued Williams and the hospital — and a confidential settlement was reached, according to the USA Today report.

A second accuser, Kristin Fehr, who had gone to Williams for a hemorrhoid procedure said she was asked to take two pills after which everything turned hazy. She could not remember what had happened until 2014 and she told the police that she recollected seeing Williams holding his penis.

She went to the ombudsman at the Cleveland Clinic and when it seemed that her complaint was not being taken forward, she went to the police where Williams was not charged with a crime.

"They went to great lengths to cover it up, and there was just no way for someone to be warned, to know what could happen," Fehr said. "They can just make it completely disappear, and that kind of environment, it almost encourages these kinds of crimes."

Williams responded to the allegations and vehemently denied them to USA Today adding the allegations by the women were affecting his "work and home life." He also noted he had never heard of Fehr, although police interviewed him about rape allegations involving a Kristin in May 2015.

Cleveland Clinic said in a statement to the New York Daily News Friday that it investigated both cases.

"Cleveland Clinic is strongly committed to protecting the rights and safety of our patients, visitors and caregivers from any type of inappropriate behavior. We have a process for employees and patients to report any concerns, which are then thoroughly investigated."

Hospital spokesperson Jenna Homrock said both the accusations were immediately reported to law enforcement. "No charges were made against the physician and he passed a polygraph test. We care deeply about our patient safety and any form of misconduct is not tolerated," the statement read.