Nov 17, 2005 11:56 pm US/Central
Two Boys To Testify Against Doc In Abuse Case
St. Paul (AP) ―
The state's highest court on Thursday gave prosecutors another chance to try to establish a pattern of sexual abuse by a Twin Cities pediatrician accused of molesting two teenage boys.
James D. McLeod, a doctor at Pediatric Services, is charged with abusing two teenage male patients during medical examinations. "Child A" said he was abused repeatedly over two years. "Child B" said he was abused once.
McLeod is getting separate trials for each alleged victim.
In a pretrial ruling, the district court ruled Child B couldn't testify in McLeod's still-pending trial on charges that the doctor molested the Child A.
The Minnesota Supreme Court said that was a mistake.
"Exclusion of Child B's testimony would make it practically impossible for the state to demonstrate a pattern of conduct or design by McLeod to abuse male teenage patients when they were alone with him in his examination room," the majority ruled in an opinion written by Justice Russell Anderson.
The high court sent the case back to the trial court to determine whether Child B's testimony would meet the required legal test of being "relevant and material and ... more probative than unfairly prejudicial."
Justices Alan Page and Paul Anderson dissented, saying, "... the evidence in question is highly inflammatory evidence involving child sexual abuse that can easily persuade by illegitimate means."
Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz did not participate.
McLeod repeatedly had been rated among the best pediatricians in a local magazine. In March 2004, more than 100 people rallied to support the St. Louis Park doctor when he made his first court appearance.
(© 2005 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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