Towson psychiatrist's license suspension upheld
By Luke Broadwater
lbroadwater@patuxent.com
Posted 11/20/09
The license of a Towson psychiatrist will continue to be summarily suspended amid allegations that he demonstrated improper conduct with boys in his care, a state health board ruled Wednesday.
Miguel Frontera, who practices at Clinical Associates, in the 500 block of Fairmount Avenue, was initially suspended Nov. 6, according to the Maryland Board of Physicians, which oversees doctors in the state.
In April, the Baltimore County Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit forwarded information to the state board about Frontera — who has had a license to practice medicine in Maryland since 1988 — after the unit received reports that Frontera had abused two boys in his office during exams, the state board said.
The first police report, filed in 2006, involved allegations of “possible sexual abuse” that occurred in 2000 and 2001, the state board said.
In that case, a 17-year-old high school student told a crisis interventionist at a Baltimore County high school that Frontera “repeatedly molested him during treatment visits when he was 11 or 12 years old,” according to the board.
The second police report, filed last March by the parent of a 16-year-old boy, involved “possible sexual abuse” in 2003, when the boy was 10, the board said. In the second case, Frontera is accused of molesting the boy during a physical exam, according to the board.
In both cases, the boys — who visited the psychiatrist’s office for treatment for suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — allege Frontera made them change into hospital gowns so he could examine their genitals, according to the board.
The board said the patients did not know each other and had not communicated with one another about their experiences.
Frontera allegedly told the police that he realized the examinations of the boys he conducted were not necessary and that he was “very out of the mainstream of psychiatry,” according to the board.
The police department declined to bring charges against Frontera but referred the cases to the state board.
Frontera has the right to a full evidentiary hearing before an administrative law judge.
Frontera’s attorney, Natalie Magdeburger, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Miguel Frontera, who practices at Clinical Associates, in the 500 block of Fairmount Avenue, was initially suspended Nov. 6, according to the Maryland Board of Physicians, which oversees doctors in the state.
In April, the Baltimore County Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit forwarded information to the state board about Frontera — who has had a license to practice medicine in Maryland since 1988 — after the unit received reports that Frontera had abused two boys in his office during exams, the state board said.
The first police report, filed in 2006, involved allegations of “possible sexual abuse” that occurred in 2000 and 2001, the state board said.
In that case, a 17-year-old high school student told a crisis interventionist at a Baltimore County high school that Frontera “repeatedly molested him during treatment visits when he was 11 or 12 years old,” according to the board.
The second police report, filed last March by the parent of a 16-year-old boy, involved “possible sexual abuse” in 2003, when the boy was 10, the board said. In the second case, Frontera is accused of molesting the boy during a physical exam, according to the board.
In both cases, the boys — who visited the psychiatrist’s office for treatment for suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — allege Frontera made them change into hospital gowns so he could examine their genitals, according to the board.
The board said the patients did not know each other and had not communicated with one another about their experiences.
Frontera allegedly told the police that he realized the examinations of the boys he conducted were not necessary and that he was “very out of the mainstream of psychiatry,” according to the board.
The police department declined to bring charges against Frontera but referred the cases to the state board.
Frontera has the right to a full evidentiary hearing before an administrative law judge.
Frontera’s attorney, Natalie Magdeburger, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
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