A 68-year-old physician at Smyth County Community Hospital in Virginia has been arrested and charged with receipt of child sexual abuse material.
According to the allegations, a teen began working at the hospital in December 2023, when she was 16. Shortly after beginning work, she allegedly met the accused in an elevator. The two allegedly talked regularly at work about high school and the teen's interest in the medical field.
By late 2024, the teen and the accused allegedly began communicating regularly via text messages and phone calls while also spending increased time together at the hospital. These communications allegedly became sexual, including sexual conversations and nude images. Before the alleged activities between the two were discovered, the accused and the teen exchanged more than 19,000 messages.
The accused, allegedly believing the teen was 17, stated he was "looking forward" to the victim's birthday, which he allegedly believed to be her 18th birthday, and urged her to keep their relationship a "secret". After the teen's birthday when she turned 17, and the doctor allegedly believed she was 18, the teen and the accused had sexual intercourse at his home.
After the investigation began, the doctor allegedly attempted to delete all of the messages between him and the teen.
Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdva/pr/fbi-arrests-smyth-county-doctor-child-exploitation-charges
Commentary
According to studies, roughly 22 to 24 percent of teenage workers experience sexual harassment in the workplace. Females are more likely to experience workplace sexual harassment than their male counterparts.
The healthcare industry was recognized as one of the most common places for workplace teenage sexual harassment, alongside the restaurant and customer service industries. Healthcare also has the third largest share of teen workers according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reported 2.95 million teens working in education/healthcare in 2025.
If the allegations in the above case are true, the teen experienced sexual harassment, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse by a male physician, who allegedly was mistaken about her status as a minor. Teens are also at risk for experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace from customers or clients - specifically, patients in healthcare settings.
Minor workers are a vulnerable workplace population, and they are less likely to report sexual harassment for many reasons - not understanding their rights, not knowing how to report, fear of not being believed, and others. They may fail to report sexual harassment or engage in behaviors they do not welcome out of fear or misconceptions about what is "normal" in the workplace.
The final takeaway is that healthcare organizations should ensure their policies and trainings include information aimed at teen workers, informing them of their rights and making clear how and when to report sexual harassment by any workplace participants, including superiors, coworkers, or patients.
Sources: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222298; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajim.23479; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37039623/; https://www.wsj.com/business/teen-sexual-harassment-workplace-43d71242; https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2025/over-half-of-employed-youth-worked-in-leisure-and-hospitality-retail-trade-or-education-and-health-services.htm
