A doctor convicted of raping a Florida woman at gunpoint in 1986 had his medical license in Maryland suspended Thursday after two women patients complained he molested them at a walk-in clinic this year.
The Maryland Board of Physicians in suspending the license also revealed that William T. Dando disclosed on his 1996 license application that he had been incarcerated for a criminal conviction but didn’t specify the crime.
He “stated that he had ‘assaulted someone’ while under the influence of alcohol,” Christine Farrelly, the board’s acting executive director, wrote in the summary suspension order.
The Maryland board doesn’t routinely run criminal background checks on applicants. Farrelly said the board is discussing making such checks for both applicants and licensees part of a legislative proposal this fall.
Farrelly declined to say what, if any, further inquiry the board made into Dando’s criminal past. She said applicants certify that the information on their applications is true, and the board reviews criminal convictions on a case-by-case basis.
Dando was sentenced in Orange County, Florida, to 10 years in prison in August 1987 after pleading guilty to burglary and sexual battery, the equivalent of rape under Florida law. He was released in May 1991.
However, a profile of Dando, who is in family medicine, posted on the board’s website says no criminal convictions “for any crime involving moral turpitude” were reported by the courts.
Dando, 59, was indicted last month on charges of fourth-degree sex offense and unnatural or perverted practice involving a 41-year-old patient who told police he improperly touched her during a pelvic examination in April. His initial appearance in Allegany County Circuit Court is set for Tuesday.
The medical licensing board said another woman told police Dando improperly touched her during a pelvic examination in January.
Dando didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment on today’s developments. He was fired from the MedExpress Urgent Care Center in LaVale, Maryland after the clinic learned of the allegations.
Allegany County State’s Attorney Michael Twigg said he knows of more than one complaint about Dando, but the others didn’t want to press criminal charges.
The medical board ordered a hearing next Wednesday on its suspension order. If Dando is dissatisfied with the board’s decision, he can request an evidentiary hearing before a state administrative law judge.
Dando graduated in 1986 from Universidad de Ciencias Medicas in San Jose, Costa Rica. He completed a residency at University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1996.