Accusations of sexual abuse trail former Children's pediatrician

Nationally known pediatrician Dr. Melvin D. Levine (left), who worked at Children's Hospital Boston until moving to the University of North Carolina in 1985, vehemently denies accusations of child abuse leveled against him by five former patients in a lawsuit filed earlier this year.

A story in today's New York Times tracks earlier complaints made over the years to Children's and the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine. None was proved in court, but the decisions are not as clear-cut as they may seem, the story says.

"There is little evidence that Children’s Hospital, the University of North Carolina or the medical board ever tried to thoroughly investigate the accusations," the story says. "For instance, in at least two cases, parents and children were never even interviewed. And the institutions did not notify one another about the individual complaints."

Asked about an accusation made in a letter to the president of Children's Hospital and later in a lawsuit after Levine had left Children's, a hospital spokeswoman told the Times an investigation had found that Dr. Levine’s care had been “appropriate within the context of the child’s medical needs.”

The University of North Carolina says Children’s Hospital never relayed information about the complaint.

A Board of Registration spokesman told the Times there was no evidence that the board contacted a man making a similar complaint in 1993, although standards for investigations have changed since then.