SANTA CRUZ – Accused child molester and Santa Cruz brain surgeon James Kohut is in jail but has the legal right to practice medicine if released, according to court documents filed by the Medical Board of California.
The board, which issues, suspends and revokes medical licenses in California, fears the 57 year old could pose a “danger to the public health, safety and welfare if allowed to continue to practice medicine,” wrote Emily Brinkman, the deputy attorney general of the Medical Board of California. Brinkman filed a notice of release filed Monday in Santa Cruz County Superior Court.
The notice petitions the court to deny Kohut’s right to practice medicine until the board has the ability to address his fitness to treat patients. The request will be heard 8:15 a.m. Friday during a hearing in superior court in Santa Cruz.
“As a licensed physician, Dr. Kohut holds a position of power and trust,” Brinkman wrote. “If defendant Kohut is permitted to continue practicing medicine, he will continue to have the ability to treat patients, without any supervision, potentially risking the safety of his patients.”
The court has the authority to deny Kohut’s right to practice medicine, Brinkman wrote.
The medical board recently acquired information about the allegations against Kohut, who worked for Palo Alto Medical Foundation and had privileges at Dominican Hospital, Brinkman wrote.
“In the interim, the defendant, who has now lost his hospital privileges, has by virtue of his status as a licensed physician, unfettered access to patients,” Brinkman wrote.
In new information released in court documents Monday, Kohut has a suspended medical license in Arkansas. In that state, Sparks Health System hired Kohut May 1 and dismissed him May 15, Sparks Health spokeswoman Stacy Johnson said.
The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners also suspended Kohut’s medical license in that state after his arrest May 14 at his home at 4th Avenue near the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. He initially was arrested on a charge of oral copulation with a child younger than 10 and two charges of lewd and lascivious acts with a child younger than 14.
Kohut now faces 10 felonies related to having sex with children and forcible lewd acts with children.
“If the charges are true, defendant Kohut has grossly abused his position of trust as a doctor by harming children,” Brinkman wrote. “The crimes defendant Kohut is charged with are substantially related to the practice of medicine.”
Nick Cvietkovich, San Jose attorney representing the 57-year-old brain surgeon, has not responded to the medical board’s communication about the accused.
A Watsonville nurse who worked at Dominican Hospital, and a Tucson, Arizona, nurse also were arrested in connection with molesting children with Kohut. Rashel Melina Brandon, 42, of Watsonville, remains in custody at Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail, according to jail records.
Watsonville police arrested Brandon on May 9 on eight felonies: four charges of having sex with a child younger than 11 years old; three charges alleging forcible lewd acts on children; and using a minor for sexual acts. Attorney Anthony Robinson is representing Brandon. Her next hearing is scheduled Friday in superior court.
A warrant was filed May 16 in Santa Cruz County for Emily Joy Stephens, 29, of Arizona on six felonies: three charges of sex with children and three charges of forced lewd acts with children. Stephens was arrested May 12 by Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Tucson, Arizona.
Stephens is being held at Pima County in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to jail records.
If convicted, Kohut, who has been licensed to practice medicine in California since 1998, could face a life sentence in prison. Brandon and Stephens also could face up to life imprisonment, according to court documents.
