Magnolia resident accused of sleeping with female patients
It started with one complaint that the director of the Discovery Wellness Centers in Magnolia had allegedly engaged in sexual activity with one of his female patients.
But now Dr. Mark Svetcos stands accused of sexual dalliances with at least eight other women who were patients and in some cases married, according to charges leveled Sept. 19 by the state Department of Health Chiropractic Quality Assurance Commission. The commission subsequently suspended Svetcos' medical license on Sept. 24.
"During the course of the investigation, the other victims came to light," said Tammy Kelly, deputy executive director with the state Department of Health. She declined to reveal how the agency found out about the other alleged victims, but she said it wasn't based on any other complaints.
Names of the alleged victims have been redacted in the commission charging papers, and they are referred to by letters of the alphabet. But the suspension order alleges that Svetcos hooked up with the women "over a period of time from, at least, July 2005 to August 2006."
The alleged sexual encounters took place at Svetcos' home, at the patients' homes and at the chiropractor's office during or shortly after he treated them, according to the charging documents.
Having sex with current patients is against state law governing sexual misconduct. "The chiropractor shall never engage in sexual contact or sexual activity with current clients," according to the law.
The law goes on to say: "The chiropractor shall never engage in sexual contact or sexual activity with former clients if such contact or activity involves the abuse of the chiropractor-client relationship."
A woman who answered the phone at the Discovery Wellness Centers office late last week deferred all questions to Svetcos' lawyer, Robert Zielke.
Zielke stressed in a phone interview that all of the alleged sexual activity was consensual, and the lawyer referred any other questions to a press release he issued on Sept. 25.
The press release reiterates that the alleged sexual conduct that took place over a 13-month period was consensual. "The quality of chiropractic care and treatment delivered by Dr. Svetcos is not being challenged or questioned," Zielke also wrote in the press release. He noted as well that the most recent allegation of sexual misconduct took place more than a year ago.
The Chiropractic Quality Assurance Commission was dubious about using that as a mitigating factor. "While it may appear that the Respondent's most recent act of sexual misconduct took place a full year ago, this is merely what has been openly admitted to by the Respondent," the suspension order states.
Svetcos has generated some sympathy in the neighborhood. "I don't get this at all," said Rudy Finne, owner of Rudy's Place directly across the street from the chiropractor's office.
Svetcos was a regular at the neighborhood bar and eatery, Finne added. "I went to his wedding about three months ago," said the restaurateur, adding that Svetcos is a nice guy and the best chiropractor he'd ever had. "I'm biased in his favor, especially if it was consensual," Finne said.
He also said that Svetcos got married after a short engagement and that he'd regularly come to Rudy's Place with a former longtime girlfriend before that. "We miss him."
Zielke said his client intends to fight the license-suspension order either at a settlement conference or at a hearing within the mandated 20 days of the suspension.
Jeff Smith, a Department of Health spokesman, said the commission board could revoke Svetcos' license permanently. "That's certainly one of the options," he said.
It's not the only one, though. Svetcos might face a license suspension for only a limited amount of time, a fine or retraining, Smith said. Sometimes neither medical professionals nor their patients know they're breaking the rules of professional conduct, he said.
That might be a bit of a stretch in this case, according to deputy executive director Kelly.
"Sexual misconduct is a huge issue with the agency," she said. "It's our top priority."
Incidents of sexual misconduct involving medical professionals are relatively rare; most complaints relate to medical care, Kelly said. Still, the magnitude of Svetcos' alleged misdeeds is also rare, she added.
There's another wrinkle listed in the charging documents. Unprofessional conduct also includes the commission of any act involving moral turpitude, something that might be a factor, Smith conceded, because some of Svetcos' alleged victims are - or at least were - married.
The husband of one of women involved, for example, called KING-TV to say his marriage was "in shambles" because of his wife's involvement with the chiropractor.
"But that would be up to the determination of the board," Smith said of adding moral turpitude to the sexual misconduct charges.
Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.
