Gainesville chiropractor accused of sexually abusing patient

Oct. 7—A Gainesville chiropractor accused of sexually abusing a patient was charged Monday by the Gainesville Police Department, court records show.

John Joseph Johnston, 67, 3311 NW 18th Ave., is accused of sexual battery on a woman he treated about eight times from November 2020 to January, a GPD sworn complaint affidavit states.

The woman reported to police that she saw Johnston for hip pain. During the visits he would do exercises that seemed intimate and made the woman uncomfortable.

On Jan. 12 the woman got no relief from two exercises so Johnston allegedly suggested a third in a private room, where she was given clinical boxer shorts. She told police that he pressed and rubbed her genitals under the shorts.

"Although the victim was extremely confused, (Johnston) explained it in such a way that (she) believed that his procedure was needed and that it would fix her hip," the complaint states. She agreed to let him continue.

The report states that while the woman gave consent, it was under the guise of medical treatment and was coerced.

Under police questioning Johnston denied abuse and was adamant that every exercise he did was a standard and common procedure.

A Sept. 28 email in the case file from Johnston's attorney to a judicial assistant states that an administrative complaint was lodged in July with the Florida Department of Health and that Johnston's practice has been restricted to male patients.

___

(c)2021 The Gainesville Sun, Fla.

Visit The Gainesville Sun, Fla. at www.gainesville.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.