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PROVO — David Broadbent, a former Provo OB-GYN, was ordered Monday to stand trial in the first of four criminal cases filed against him.
Fourth District Judge Kraig Powell said not all statements from the woman making the claims against Broadbent have the elements required to support the criminal charges, but her most recent statement did.
Broadbent was ordered to stand trial for forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, and object rape, a first-degree felony.
Powell said the woman claimed that during an appointment, Broadbent lifted both her shirt and bra and touched her in a manner the woman thought was sexual and not for a medical purpose. He also said Broadbent told her, when placing a medical device inside her, that he would need to manipulate the device 100 times, which she assumed was an exaggeration and then continued to manipulate the device for at least 90 seconds.
"The alleged victim indicates in her statement that again she did not consent to this particular usage of the medical device and that it appeared to be lasting much, much longer than was necessary," the judge said to support his decision to order Broadbent to stand trial.
Powell said Broadbent's attorney, Cara Tangaro, made an argument that the intent to either cause significant harm or arouse sexual desire must be present. He determined there was enough evidence in the woman's statements — if he considers them true as is done at this stage of the case — that Broadbent could have been attempting to create sexual desire in either himself or the woman.
"The interpretation of the actions will be for the jury in this case," the judge said.
Tangaro asked Powell to enter not-guilty pleas from Broadbent for both charges.
Other criminal cases
In addition to being ordered to stand trial in the first criminal case, Monday's hearing included an initial appearance for three other criminal cases that were filed against Broadbent in January.
In the three cases, Broadbent is charged with a total of 12 counts of object rape, a first-degree felony; and forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
In the charges for each case, each of the three women say they were sexually abused by Broadbent in 2014, all while getting check-ups during their pregnancies.
His next hearing, for all four cases, will be on March 17. Tangaro said they will likely set the three new cases for a preliminary hearing at that time, and leave the case where he has already been ordered to stand trial on hold during that process.
Deputy Utah County attorney Michael Starrs said he plans to file a motion to allow evidence from other cases to be brought into the trial.
Civil lawsuit prepares to move forward
When the Utah Supreme Court ruled that a civil lawsuit filed against Broadbent and medical providers he worked with by patients should not have been dismissed, it was looking at a lawsuit filed by 94 women. Since the high court ruled that sexual abuse cannot be considered medical care, the lawsuit has grown.
The most recent version of the lawsuit, filed on Jan. 31, listed aliases and stories representing 217 women, some with initials and some as a numbered "Jane Doe" and left 300 additional spots for others who the attorneys do not yet know but could join the lawsuit later.
It claims Broadbent "took advantage of his position, (the women's) vulnerability, and that relationship of trust as he sexually battered and abused" the women identified in the lawsuit and "numerous" others while working at his clinic on University Avenue in Provo over the past 40 years.
The attorneys claim in the lawsuit that Broadbent's actions "shattered" the women's sense of safety and conception of trust, leading them to question themselves.
It also said Intermountain Health and Timpanogos Hospital were affiliated with Broadbent and did not stop allowing him to give care in their hospitals despite both formal and informal complaints.
Broadbent, Intermountain Health and Timpanogos Hospital filed responses to the amended complaint on Feb. 7. Broadbent admitted he saw some of the patients but denied everything they claimed happened during the appointments.
Now the case will move into a discovery stage where both sides gather information about the allegations.
