Dr. William Moore Thompson IV was the only doctor of his kind in South Orange County.
According to many of those he treated, Thompson was an infectious disease expert who had made his name in medicine caring for men living with and experiencing complications from HIV and AIDS.
Indeed, U.S. News & World Report ranked the 56-year-old Thompson as one of the top doctors in the country for treating HIV and AIDS patients.
Using Medicare data, they found Thompson was in 98th percentile for the sheer number of HIV and AIDS patients he treated from 2020 through 2023.
But now, dozens of those patients say Thompson systematically abused them during medical appointments, subjecting them to invasive examinations: In a lawsuit filed Dec. 29, 2023 against Thompson, two of his businesses, and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, the 73 alleged victims, all men, accused Thompson of using his authority as a doctor to sexually assault them under the guise of medical check-ups.
Thompson, numerous alleged victims said, would perform aggressive prostate exams using his fingers, without wearing gloves. He allegedly would fondle them while commenting on the appearance of their genitalia. Often, they said in the complaint, he would subject them to sexual innuendo and advances, including showing them his erect penis during the exams.
All of this behavior, they claimed, would occur regardless of the location. While most of the alleged wrongful conduct occurred in Thompson’s private offices in Newport Beach, in several instances outlined in the complaint, Thompson’s accusers said they were assaulted either while they were being treated in the emergency room of Hoag Hospital, or while they were recovering from or prepping for surgery.
At least two emergency room patients accused Thompson of assaulting them while they were being treated for serious medical issues.
One plaintiff, a 56-year-old man identified only as John Doe 12 in the complaint, said he was…
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