Mark Hoeltzel
Another scary university physician story: An ex-University of Michigan doctor has been arrested on federal child pornography charges that were unsealed on Monday.
The pornography was discovered on the computer of ex-University of Michigan doctor, Mark Hoeltzel, a former pediatric rheumatology specialist at the university, reports Tresa Baldas of the Detroit Free Press.
The case began, according to court documents, after the FBI learned that the doctor allegedly had sex with a “vulnerable” female patient in his clinic, gave her pain pills that she didn't need and talked to her about his other teenage patients' "hot" bodies.
A criminal complaint accuses him of having a 2-year-long sexual relationship with the female patient who was referred to him when she was 17 for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. She also had a mental health diagnoses, court records show.
Law enforcers seized a computer thumb drive from Hoeltzel's home and discovered the child porn, court filings say.
In January, WDIV reported that Hoeltzel was fired a month after the state suspended his license. Michigan State Police at the time confirmed the opening of a criminal investigation.
In 2004, he got into trouble for exchanging flirtatious social media messages with an 11-year-old girl he'd examined at a U-M arthritis camp. The hospital sent him to what's called a "boundaries course."
