Jan 10, 2006 12:01 pm US/Central
Trial Of Doctor Accused Of Abusing Teen Begins
Minneapolis (AP) ―
A popular St. Louis Park, Minn. pediatrician was portrayed by prosecutors as a manipulator who used his position to sexually abuse a teenage male patient.
But an attorney for Dr. James McLeod said in his opening statements Monday that his client was wrongfully accused and that the boy's therapist led the teen to believe in sexual encounters that never happened.
McLeod's supporters packed the Hennepin County courtroom on Monday, some of them nodding their heads as the defense presented its case.
McLeod, 62, was charged in March 2004 with abusing two teenage male patients during medical examinations. The two cases will be tried separately.
In the case that started Monday, prosecutor Paul Young said a 17-year-old former patient will testify that between the ages of 13 and 15, he was abused on eight different occasions in McLeod's exam room while his mother waited outside the office.
"This boy has nothing to gain and everything to lose by testifying," Young told the jury.
Police found no physical evidence or had any witnesses.
McLeod's defense attorney, Bill Mauzy, said medical records show the boy's mother said her son had a propensity to lie and was struggling with his sexual orientation.
McLeod will take the stand in his own defense, Mauzy said.
McLeod has spent his entire career with Pediatric Services and often made Mpls.-St. Paul Magazine's list of top doctors. He has stopped practicing while the case is pending.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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