Former VA doctor Morgenstern pleads not guilty to additional sex crime charges

The former Spokane VA Medical Center doctor accused of drugging and raping a 13-year-old boy at his Nine Mile Falls home in October now faces additional charges he traveled to Mississippi and videotaped sex with other young victims. Craig Morgenstern, 46, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 36 criminal charges that include aggravated sexual assault of a child and production of child pornography. He remains in custody of the Spokane County Jail without the possibility of posting bail. A joint local and federal investigation, launched after the boy ran to a neighbor’s home Oct. 18 and said he was sexually abused by Morgenstern, turned up underage victims in Meridian, Mississippi, where Morgenstern was licensed to practice medicine at Riley Memorial Hospital, according to state records. The grand jury alleges Morgenstern traveled back to Mississippi for sex multiple times between September 2008 and January 2011, filming the alleged crimes. The alleged victim in the Nine Mile Falls incident was taken to a hospital, where his urine tested positive for benzodiazepine, a prescription sedative. The Washington State Department of Health licensed Morgenstern in July 2008. That license has been revoked as a result of the allegations of sex crimes. Multiple thumb drives, computers and other electronic devices were seized from Morgenstern’s home shortly after his arrest. Morgenstern was originally charged with 9 criminal counts after authorities recovered digital files on computers and cameras showing what appeared to be sexual acts conducted with minors at a hotel in Hayden, Idaho. The physician also volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Inland Northwest through March 2013, according to a statement released after Morgenstern’s arrest last year. Morgenstern now faces 14 counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, 18 counts of production or attempted production of child pornography, 2 counts of transportation with intent to engage in sexual contact with a child and 2 counts of receipt or possession of child pornography. If found guilty of the sexual abuse charges, Morgenstern faces a minimum 30-year prison sentence and mandatory registration as a sex offender. Morgenstern appeared in leg irons and a Spokane County inmate jumpsuit Wednesday afternoon, where he entered his not-guilty plea. He was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.