Jailed radiologist charged with rape, battery cites COVID-19 for release request
A former Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center radiologist is in custody and and has been charged with raping, choking, and threatening to kill his girlfriend, according to a June 25 report from the Boston Herald.
Koenraad Mortele, MD, of Dover, Massachusetts, was indicted earlier this month on 13 counts, including assault and battery, stalking, strangulation and witness intimidation. He’s been in jail for the past five months but is now asking to be released due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a dangerousness hearing Wednesday, Erin Murphy, assistant district attorney, said Mortele has a child in Canada and ties to his home country in Belgium. Murphy also said that he has threatened to flee the country.
Mortele’s attorney, Karen Goldenberg, told a judge that her client is “successfully parenting” with a former partner and that his hypertension puts him at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus.
A Beth Israel Deaconess spokeswoman confirmed with the Boston Herald that Mortele was placed on leave after his January arrest and the health system terminated him quickly after. He also voluntarily signed an agreement in February not to practice medicine, the news outlet reports.
Read the entire Boston Herald story below.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.