RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Virginia doctor accused of sexually abusing two disabled children at a residential children’s hospital in New Kent County is still licensed to practice medicine in Virginia, according to state records.
In an indictment unsealed by prosecutors last week, Daniel Davidow is charged with four counts related to his alleged sexual abuse of two children in late 2017 and early 2018. On all four counts, the indictment notes that Davidow committed the abuses by exploiting “the victim’s mental incapacity and or physical helplessness.”
And records held by the Virginia Medical Board, the body which oversees medical licensure in the commonwealth, show that Davidow’s license to practice is still valid, and won’t expire until October 2024. Under Virginia law, doctors must renew their license every two years.
That means Davidow’s license would have been renewed by the board around October 2020 — three years after Virginia State Police began an investigation into widespread abuse at the troubled hospital in 2017.
As part of that investigation, a psychotherapist at the facility was accused of sexually abusing a patient there, but committed suicide on the day he was set to plead guilty.
Another behavioral technician pleaded no contest — effectively the same as a guilty plea — to charges related to an incident in which she intentionally burned a child with scalding water.
The hospital’s website states that the facility serves children with “brain injury, chronic illness or neurobehavioral issues.”
If convicted on all counts, Davidow would face a mandatory minimum of 12 years in prison under the code of Virginia, and could face up to life in prison.
