Newport Beach doctor charged with assaulting male patients

A Newport Beach doctor who specializes in treating members of the LGBTQ+ community was charged with sexually assaulting nine male patients under the guise of medical examinations, the district attorney’s office announced today.

Dr. William Thompson IV, 56, of Huntington Beach, was charged with eight felony counts of sexual penetration by means of fraudulent representation of professional purpose, three felony counts of sexual battery by fraud, and two felony counts of forcible oral copulation.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 2 in Newport Beach. He is free on $100,000 bond, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the alleged assaults of patients occurred between 2016 and 2020. He was arrested Sept. 20 at his medical practice.

Thompson faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life in prison, plus an additional 25 years, if convicted as charged, according to the district attorney’s office.