SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A Team 10 investigation has uncovered a loophole in a state law that was meant to permanently revoke the licenses of doctors who commit sexual misconduct with patients.
At least three physicians with a history of sexual misconduct have surrendered their medical licenses over the past year in San Diego County.
But a fourth doctor who had sex with a patient continues to practice medicine, despite a state law that a San Diego senator says was meant to prevent that.
“As a provider, you cannot take advantage of that vulnerability,” said State Senator Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson, a practicing OB-GYN.
She co-authored Assembly Bill 1636, which took effect in January 2023. The law was designed to permanently ban doctors from regaining their licenses if they’ve been disciplined for sexual misconduct, no matter how long ago.
“Once they try to come back up for renewal of their license, that will be flagged and they will not be able to get renewal of their medical license to continue to practice here in California,” Weber Pierson told Team 10 in a recent interview.
'Very alarming for me'
She introduced the bill after a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that 10 doctors had regained their licenses after losing them for sexual misconduct.
“This was very alarming for me. It was also very alarming for the California Medical Association because the doctor-patient relationship is one of the most sacred relationships that you can have,” Weber Pierson said.
The law received bipartisan support and backing from the California Medical Association.
Weber Pierson’s intent for the law was clear: “You will not be able to practice medicine with a license here in the state of California ever again.”
Her position mirrors what other leaders said when the law was being developed.
In 2022, the president of California’s Medical Board told the LA Times: “Any doctor who breaches that trust through sexual misconduct or otherwise should not be able to continue practicing medicine in California.”
And after the bill became law, the president of the California Medical Association thanked Governor Gavin Newsom “for signing AB 1636 to ensure the Medical Board of California has the tools they need to protect patients and keep any physician who violates a patient’s trust from practicing medicine.”
But despite the law, Team 10 found a doctor who had sex with a patient can keep his license.
Dr. Austin Kooba remains able to practice as long as he continues to meet the terms of his probation, the Medical Board of California confirmed.
Kooba, who has not returned requests for comment, has a Solana Beach address and is working at a non-profit clinic in Calexico, according to his LinkedIn page.
He made headlines after he had sex with a patient and wrote her a prescription for an abortion pill.
According to medical board records, the relationship started in 2013 at a conference and the two would go on to have sex in his office.
The woman later became a nurse at Kaiser in Santa Rosa, where Kooba worked.
In 2018, the medical board revoked the OB-GYN’s license and called his relationship with his patient “an egregious violation of the law,” in a news release.
But in February 2023, just weeks after AB 1636 became law, the board reinstated Kooba’s license with some conditions.
Medical board responds
The medical board told Team 10 Kooba petitioned to get his license back before the bill took effect in January 2023.
“AB 1636 was not law at the time the hearing on his petition occurred; therefore, it would not have been relevant for the (administrative law judge) to refer to that legislation in their decision,” board spokesperson Alexandria Schembra said in a statement.
The board maintains that AB 1636 bars doctors from petitioning for reinstatement only if they file the request after January 1, 2023.
“AB 1636 does not impact the laws related to licensure renewal. If Dr. Kooba meets the terms of his probation and all relevant renewal requirements, then he may continue to renew his license,” Schembra said.
That interpretation is an apparent loophole that Weber Pierson wasn’t aware of until she sat down with Team 10.
Her office is now in contact with the medical board to determine if changes to the law are needed.
Weber Pierson pointed to the three doctors accused of sexual misconduct that Team 10 found as evidence of her law making a difference to protect patients.
Last year, Dr. Anupam Garg agreed to surrender his license. He was accused of sexual misconduct by the medical board for sexting a patient while working at the Scripps OB-GYN clinic in San Diego. The board found he failed to have a chaperone present during a breast exam, pap smear and IUD placement.
Eye doctor surrenders license
In February, Dr. Robert Pendleton surrendered his license.
The eye doctor, who worked in Oceanside, committed acts of “sexual abuse and misconduct” with a patient in 2022, according to the medical board. He did not return multiple requests for comment.
The regulator said during a cataract follow-up appointment, Pendleton “pulled her very close and pressed his body against hers, with full frontal contact.”
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The patient could feel the doctor’s “erect penis on her abdomen and lower stomach as they were pressed tighter,” according to discipline records.
Team 10 confirmed it was Pendleton’s second run-in with the medical board.
In 2011, he got a public reprimand for having a sexual relationship with a patient.
“I am very disheartened that people within my profession, within this profession, would do such things to their patients,” said Weber Pierson.
Gynecologist on probation retires
In May, Dr. Ziyad Ghabra, a gynecologist who made headlines in the 90’s, agreed to surrender his license.
The physician lost his license decades ago after convictions in LA County for felony sexual assault, battery and false imprisonment.
The medical board says he had sex with one patient during a pelvic exam and crossed the line with others.
In 2016, after taking responsibility and going to a 12-step sex addicts’ program, the board reinstated his license, allowing him to practice again.
He was mandated to have a chaperone present when seeing female patients. But in 2021, the medical board found he failed to use approved supervisors. The board kept him on probation, allowing him to see patients.
The doctor, who has a San Diego address, told Team 10 he decided to retire.
But Weber Pierson said he would not have been allowed to renew his license under AB 1636.
“It sends a clear message to providers throughout California, but it also sends a very clear message to those providers throughout the country that we don't tolerate that here in California.”
Team 10 Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish covers the Medical Board of California, the border and military investigations. He can be reached by email at austin.grabish@10news.com
