North Chesterfield chiropractor sentenced for sexual battery of patients | Crime News

Michael Dennis Pollock, 67, did not admit guilt on Friday, but was found guilty by Richmond Circuit Court Judge Claire G. Cardwell. Cardwell sentenced him to 15 days in jail — five days for each count, per a plea agreement — but his attorney, James Maloney, said Pollock had already served that time and asked that he be released following the hearing.

Pollock was given a week’s reprieve before facing sentencing to allow him to attend his son’s graduation, according to the plea agreement.

Last year, Pollock was initially charged with three counts of aggravated sexual battery and object sexual penetration stemming from interactions he had with two women while working at a Richmond office in May. Richmond police said the facility where the alleged assaults occurred, Advanced Wellness Centre on Grove Avenue in Richmond, isn’t where Pollock usually sees patients. His practice, Bon Air Chiropractic Clinic, is off Forest Hill Avenue in North Chesterfield.

Two women told police they were inappropriately touched during his examination in the Richmond office, according to a court affidavit.

“This was not a recognized form of treatment,” a Richmond detective swore in an affidavit.

Pollock has a history of similar complaints dating back to 1984, according to documents from the Virginia Department of Health Professions. His license had been restricted or suspended on two prior occasions since 2003.

At a Board of Medicine hearing in 2012 when Pollock petitioned to have his license reinstated, a psychiatrist “opined that Dr. Pollock ‘is not a sexual predator’ and that [the psychiatrist] does not believe Dr. Pollock ‘is a danger to his patients.’”

His license was fully restored in 2013 after Pollock completed a 100-hour mentorship under a board-approved chiropractor, 12 hours of continued education on professional ethics and patient boundaries, and engaged in therapy. He also was required to have a chaperone present for all encounters with female patients.

As part of Friday’s plea agreement, Pollock must surrender his chiropractic license, which was suspended by Virginia Board of Medicine in February, and agree to never practice again. He must also register as a sex offender and complete “mental health and fitness” evaluation to assess “his risk to the community for sexual predation,” according to the plea deal.

Pollock must pay for the evaluation himself, but is allowed to choose the expert who does the assessment, the agreement said.