Former chiropractor faces more charges

Published: 2009-03-24 09:21:17
Author: Tony Raap, Gillette News Record, October 3, 2008

A former chiropractor convicted of fondling his patients during office visits faces a half-dozen additional charges in the case.

Jack Faubion, a former member of the Campbell County Public Land Board, was bound over to District Court on Wednesday on suspicion of six counts of third-degree sexual assault. He waived his preliminary hearing in Circuit Court.

The alleged victims include a pregnant woman in her third trimester and a 15-year-old girl suffering from back pain. Several came forward after reading about Faubion’s original charges in The News-Record.

Faubion, 32, was found guilty in April of four counts of third-degree sexual assault for groping several patients at his Gillette clinic. He was acquitted of a fifth charge.

In all, he has been charged or convicted of sexually assaulting 10 women. Nine claim they were fondled. One told investigators Faubion’s hand kept grazing her crotch.

During the office visits, Faubion often put his hands under the women’s shirt and bra. He told them he was checking to see if a rib was out of place.

During the trial, Mark Heller, an Ashland, Ore., chiropractor, testified this was an accepted practice in the chiropractic profession. But during cross-examination, Heller acknowledged that the women’s testimony of having their breasts cupped, massaged and groped sounded like Faubion had gone too far.

In the most recent charges, several women likened their office visits to a breast exam, with one saying Faubion had “felt her up more than her gynecologist,” according to court documents.

Another woman told investigators the touching made her feel uncomfortable but told herself Faubion is a professional and is supposed to know what he is doing.

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