In three different settings in Georgia – an Army base, a jail and a clinic -- Dr. William Almon faced allegations that he sexually violated extremely vulnerable female patients. He continues to practice medicine, and some who are familiar with his history wonder how that is possible.
Of the thousands of cases reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in its investigation of physician sexual misconduct, few show the forces that protect offending doctors more dramatically.
Almon was accused of molesting two patients – a woman with schizophrenia and a 14-year-old girl – at a Paulding County clinic where he was hired even though corporate officials knew of his background.
The charges could have brought a prison sentence, but didn’t. Then the Georgia Composite Medical Board negotiated an agreement that let him continue practicing.
