California infectious disease doctor charged with sexually assaulting 9 male patients

Authorities allege that a Newport Beach infectious disease doctor sexually assaulted nine male patients while performing medical examinations.

Dr. William Thompson IV, a 56-year-old Huntington Beach resident who specializes in treating members of the LGBTQ community, has been charged with a slew of felonies, including sexual penetration by false representation of professional purposes, sexual battery by fraud, and forcible oral copulation.

According to an Orange County District Attorney’s Office news release, a half-dozen Thompson’s patients reported learning that the procedures he performed on them were not medically necessary and were sexual assaults.

“Many of Dr. Thompson’s patients depended on him to provide life-saving care, and he exploited those vulnerabilities for his own sexual gratification,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a prepared statement.”Unfortunately, because of his specialized area of practice, Dr. Thompson put the very patients he was supposed to treat with professionalism and dignity, in a situation where they may have felt they had no other choice but to be subjected to sexual abuse in order to receive the treatment they needed to continue to live.”

Thompson was arrested on Wednesday at his Newport Beach medical practice after a joint investigation by the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Newport Beach Police Department. Prosecutors claim Thompson is affiliated with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in addition to his general practitioner services.

Thompson previously admitted to misdemeanor DUI charges after being arrested at 9:30 a.m. in April 2021 with a blood alcohol content of.38 — far above the legal limit of.08.

Thompson faces up to 55 years to life in prison if convicted of the new charges. On Nov. 2, he is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment. In the meantime, he is free on a $100,000 bond, according to court records.

It was not immediately clear from court records whether Thompson had retained counsel.

Anyone with additional information or who believes they may have been a victim is asked to contact Newport Beach detectives at 949-644-3682 or to make an anonymous tip at 1-800-550-6273.