Ex-VA doctor faces additional child sex charges

The former Spokane VA Medical Center doctor accused of drugging and raping a 13-year-old boy at his Nine Mile Falls home now faces additional charges that 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’s being held without bail at the Spokane County Jail.

On Oct. 18, the boy in Nine Mile Falls ran to a neighbor’s house and said he was sexually abused by Morgenstern.

A joint local and federal investigation turned up more underage victims in Meridian, Mississippi, where Morgenstern was licensed to practice medicine at Riley Memorial Hospital, according to state records. A grand jury alleges Morgenstern traveled to Mississippi for sex multiple times between September 2008 and January 2011, filming the alleged crimes.

The victim in the Nine Mile Falls incident was taken to a hospital, where his urine tested positive for benzodiazepine, a prescription sedative, court records say.

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 That license has been revoked as a result of the allegations of sex crimes.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 originally was charged with nine 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. The physician 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, two counts of transportation with intent to engage in sexual contact with a child and two 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 during an appearance in U.S. District Court, where he entered his not-guilty plea. He was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.