EBENSBURG—A former Pennsylvania pediatrician is scheduled for sentencing Monday, March 18, in the sexual assault of 31 children, most of them patients, in a case that state medical regulators failed to act on nearly two decades ago.
Dr. Johnnie Barto of Johnstown will be sentenced on dozens of counts, including aggravated indecent assault and child endangerment.
Prosecutors say he spent decades abusing boys and girls in the exam room at his pediatric practice in western Pennsylvania and at local hospitals, with his victims typically ranging in age from 8 to 12. One was an infant.
Barto pleaded guilty in December to some counts and no contest to others. He’s been jailed pending sentencing.
“Families went to this doctor for basic care—he took advantage of that trust and now he’ll pay for his crimes, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.
Further Charges for Johnstown Pediatrician
BREAKING: My Office has filed additional charges against Johnstown pediatrician Dr. Johnnie Barto for horrific sexual abuse. In January, we charged him with assaulting a 12-year-old patient. In February, a 14-year-old family member. Today, a 7-year-old family member. These child victims – the most vulnerable members of our society – were abused by a man who was tasked with protecting them. Parents trust their kids with their pediatrician and with their own family. Barto violated that trust. We have heard from other victims of Barto, and this investigation is ongoing. If you have any information, call us: 412-565-7680.
由 Attorney General Josh Shapiro 发布于 2018年4月9日周一
His lawyer, David Weaver, has said Barto opted to enter pleas so “the healing could begin for his family, his victims and for himself.”
Authorities had a chance to stop Barto in 2000, when he appeared before the Pennsylvania Board of Medicine on administrative charges that he molested two young girls in the 1990s.
Regulators threw out the case and allowed him to keep practicing medicine, saying the allegations were “incongruous to his reputation.” At the time, the prominent pediatrician had a lot of support in the community.
Barto, now 71, went on to molest at least a dozen more young patients before his arrest in January 2018, according to the state attorney general’s office.
#BREAKING @PAAttorneyGen says Johnstown pediatrician Dr. Johnnie Barto pleaded guilty today to multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault for sexually assaulted numerous kids. @WJACTV pic.twitter.com/A04PLheAk4
— Crispin Havener (@CrispinHavener) December 20, 2018
The medical board’s 7-2 decision to let him off the hook in 2000 sparked outrage from victims and at least one former board member.
Vivian Lowenstein, who had voted to strip Barto of his license, told The Associated Press last year that she was “sick about it” and that the case was as an example of how Pennsylvania’s physician-regulators typically looked out for their own.
The Pennsylvania Department of State, which provides legal and administrative support to the board and prosecutes administrative cases of doctor misconduct, said last year that “the Board of Medicine takes allegations of sexual misconduct by professional licensees very seriously.”
Regulators have not commented on the board’s 2000 decision.
Child Abuse
An estimated 674,000 children were determined to be victims of maltreatment in 2017, according to the Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families.
Of the victims, about 75 percent were neglected, 18 percent were physically abused, and 9 percent were sexually abused.
If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, contact your local child protective services office or law enforcement agency so officials can investigate and assess the situation. Most states have a number to call to report abuse or neglect.
To find out where to call, consult the State Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Numbers website.
The Childhelp organization can also provide crisis assistance and other counseling and referral services. Contact them at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453).
“Every year more than 3.6 million referrals are made to child protection agencies involving more than 6.6 million children (a referral can include multiple children),” according to Childhelp.
