By Dan Wells - bio | email
BUTLER COUNTY, OH (FOX19) - A wild story is unraveling in Butler County, where the prosecutor is talking about 76-indictment against Drs. Mark and Scott Blankenburg.
The pediatricians, who are twin brothers, are accused of engaging in sex acts with six young male patients, video taping some of it, and then bribing the victims to keep quiet with drugs or money.
Scott Blankenburg is free after posting a $50,000 cash bond after his indictment last Friday.
Mark Blankenburg remains in jail on a $1 million cash bond for the long list of charges.
The 30-page Butler County indictment is full of stunning charges and accusations against the 53-year-old twin doctors, who have offices in Hamilton and Fairfield.
"These are very serious and complicated charges," said Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper.
In the paperwork are dozens of counts accusing the brothers of committing sex acts on minors, illegally providing them prescription pain killers and other drugs, as well as alleging they paid for sex from their young patients and then bribed the boys to stay quiet.
Piper says it took years for the victims to come forward.
"Younger people have a harder time coming forward," he said. "Younger people have a harder time talking about embarrassing things. It takes a little bit of age and time and maturity before a victim can come out."
Dr. Scott Bresler, the clinical director of the Division of Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati, gave some perspective on situations that involve children.
"In most cases, there is a grooming that goes on, with a potential victim usually these individuals are good with kids, are influential with children and as such they can work themselves into a position of trust with that child, then they have access to the child, then they flip and abuse that access with a child," said Dr. Bresler.
Both men are also accused of having child pornography in the home they shared with their parents.
Police found several images of minors engaged in sex acts, crimes that in any circumstance have lasting consequences.
"They can internalize that aspect of themselves and in doing so that can be carried with them through their formative years and into adulthood and that can be most devastating," said Dr. Bresler.
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