Kansas City-area doctor sexually assaulted Amish girls, women for decades: Prosecutors

A suburban Kansas City doctor for decades sexually assaulted women and girls, mostly from Amish communities, under the guise of performing routine breast and pelvic exams, prosecutors said Monday.

David B. Clark, 70, of Independence, was charged with six felonies in Jackson County Circuit Court based on a long-running investigation led by the FBI. He is accused of assaulting patients at his Health+Plus clinic in Oak Grove, a town of about 8,500 people, 30 miles east of Kansas City.

Clark allegedly stimulated the clitoris of patients — describing the act as “treatment” — during pelvic exams. Sometimes the abuse occurred while employees or family members of the patients were present in the room.

He also performed “excessively long breast examinations on multiple victims,” according to an affidavit prepared by an FBI agent, and the women told investigators Clark seemed to derive enjoyment from that.

Authorities allege Clark concealed the sexual abuse from his patients by saying his actions were medically necessary. He also “targeted” girls and women from Amish communities who would have little if any experience with a gynecologist or obstetrician, the affidavit says.

Following his arrest Monday, records show a $250,000 cash-only bond was posted for Clark to be released from the Jackson County jail. Under the terms of his release, which include GPS monitoring, Clark is forbidden from contacting anyone involved in the case or performing “medical treatment for any reason.”

A voicemail left on the doctor’s business line was not immediately returned.

While Clark was licensed as a chiropractor, his Health+Plus clinic advertises a variety of services under the banner of a “holistic alternative health and wellness center.” Its website, parts of which were inaccessible Monday afternoon, offers general wellness consultation and diagnosis based on “latest scientific methods” paired with “traditional approaches.”

Clark presented himself to patients as a “naturopath,” according to the FBI affidavit, promising a style of medicine that Amish people are often drawn to. No such classification exists as a medical license in Missouri.

Charges filed against Clark concern five women, four of whom were minors at the time of the alleged abuse. The earliest criminal allegation dates to July 1999, though authorities allege Clark is believed to have committed similar crimes against “dozens of victims” since the 1980s.

One of the former patients, identified as Victim 1, recalled visiting Clark for the first time when she was under age 14. She said the doctor acted in a different manner depending on whether her mother was in the room.

On some of those visits, she told the FBI, Clark would attempt to make her orgasm. She said there was at least one instance when she had two “pelvic treatments” in a day, saying the doctor told her multiple times would be “more effective.”

Another woman recalled visiting the clinic from out of state when she was younger than 17. She said the pelvic examinations made her “very uncomfortable” and she only became aware of what happened to her in adulthood.

Other women interviewed by the FBI reported alarming behavior, including Clark using his bare hands while touching them. One recalled a case where Clark applied suction cups to her breasts as a treatment for congestion.

The FBI also spoke with an unnamed former employee and licensed chiropractor who recalled an office meeting where Clark outlined the process for pelvic exams and “treatment” on an anatomical pelvic structure of the women’s reproductive system.

During that demonstration, Clark allegedly said: “The first few times you do this, you’re going to get a stiffy,” according to the affidavit.

In June 2022, the FBI obtained and served a search warrant for Clark’s clinic in Oak Grove.

On his computer, authorities said they found a sexually explicit letter, apparently written by Clark, from the perspective of an incestuous father fantasizing about sexually assaulting a child.

Also discovered was an apparent draft for a book. The story, according to the FBI, was about a doctor who visits a woman’s home for “treatments” that sexually arouse him.

Online records with the state’s Division of Professional Registration show Clark was first issued a medical license in 1977. He is a licensed chiropractic physician.

Over his 46 years in practice, there is one disciplinary action publicly listed by the regulatory division. In 1990, the doctor was suspended for a period of two weeks and put on probation for failure to provide financial information to a patient.