Trial opens for former Virginia hospital medical director accused of sexual abuse of ex

NEW KENT, Va. (AP) — The former longtime medical director of a Virginia hospital that serves vulnerable children used physical examinations as a “ruse” to sexually abuse two teenage patients, a prosecutor said Monday, while the physician’s attorney “adamantly” denied any inappropriate conduct.

The trial of Daniel N. Davidow of Richmond, who for decades served as the medical director of the Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents, opened Monday morning in New Kent County, where a judge will weigh the charges against him.

Davidow, along with the hospital and its parent company, faces a separate civil proceeding in which dozens of former patients have accused him of inappropriate touching, allegations he also has denied. He was criminally charged in December 2022 with four felony counts in connection with allegations made by two of those former patients.