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Luke Broadwater, The Examiner <br>
Read more by _Luke Broadwater_ <br>
(<a href="http://www.examiner.com/Topic-By_Luke_Broadwater.html" target="_blank">http://www.examiner.com/Topic-By_Luke_Broadwater.html</a>)
<br>
Feb 15, 2007 3:00 AM (1 day ago)<br>
Current rank: # 542 of 14,849 articles BALTIMORE - Dr. Nelson H.
Hendler <br>
pleaded guilty to a drug distribution charge in Baltimore County Circuit
Court —<br>
but maintained his innocence and avoided a conviction. <br>
<br>
“He absolutely believes he is innocent, as do I,” Hendler’s attorney
Brian <br>
Thompson said. “He was being threatened with a federal indictment.
Because <br>
they suspended his license to practice, he didn’t have the resources to
defend <br>
himself. They basically had him between a rock and a hard place.” <br>
<br>
Hendler, 63, of Owings Mills, entered an Alford plea Monday to one count
of <br>
possession with the intent to distribute drugs, including OxyContin —
meaning <br>
Hendler denies any involvement in criminal activity but acknowledges <br>
prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him. <br>
<br>
Judge Kathleen G. Cox sentenced Hendler, an accomplished and
award-winning <br>
psychiatrist, to probation before judgment, which allows him to avoid a <br>
conviction. Cox then ordered him to serve 18 months of supervised
probation. <br>
<br>
Thompson said Hendler’s unsupervised probation will begin after he
completes <br>
150 hours of community service. <br>
<br>
The Maryland Board of Physicians suspended Hendler’s license on Feb. 6, <br>
2006, when it concluded he distributed returned drugs to other patients and
had <br>
sexual misconduct with three patients. <br>
<br>
A Baltimore County grand jury indicted him on drug distribution charges
in <br>
May. <br>
<br>
Thompson said the sexual misconduct findings of the physicians board have
no <br>
merit and were never charged criminally. <br>
<br>
“His primary mistake was he failed to properly dispose of narcotics,” <br>
Thompson said. “He kept them in a locked office and didn’t destroy them.
He had <br>
no nefarious intent. He didn’t know what to do with them. If he’s putting
<br>
them out on the street, then why did he have all these old prescriptions
in his <br>
office?” <br>
<br>
Last year, police searched Hendler’s Mensana Clinic in Stevenson and
found <br>
5,800 pills, including OxyContin, that should have been destroyed. Police
said <br>
the large amount shows Hendler intended to distribute the drugs. <br>
<br>
In a separate civil case, an anonymous woman filed a lawsuit against
Hendler <br>
in December alleging he sexually abused her while she was sedated. <br>
<br>
Thompson said Hendler’s guilty plea this week will not affect the civil <br>
case. <br>
<br>
“The subject matter is completely different,” he said. “There was no <br>
criminal allegation of impropriety with any patient female or otherwise.”
<br>
<br>
lbroadwater@baltimoreexaminer.com <br>
<br>
<br>
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