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Dr. Zvi Levran, a Detroit-area physician who worked with many local amateur hockey programs, was charged Wednesday with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which come in addition to the 17 counts Levran already faces in Oakland County, Mich. Here’s what you need to know:
- The alleged offenses covered by the latest charges occurred in early August 2022 in Levran’s office in West Bloomfield, Mich., according to West Bloomfield Police Department public information officer Curtis Lawson.
- In addition to these charges, West Bloomfield police confirmed there is another open investigation focused on Levran.
- Levran pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday and is in custody in Oakland County. Bond has been set at $1 million, with conditions, including the mandatory use of a GPS tether.
- The next court date is a probable cause conference on Dec. 5.
NEW: New charges issued against Dr. Zvi Levran, a Detroit-area physician who worked with many local amateur hockey programs.
Levran was charged today w/ 2 counts of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct.
This is in addition to the 17 counts he is already facing in Oakland County https://t.co/2dZw582xWq
— Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) November 23, 2022
Backstory
Levran was charged last month with seven counts of criminal sexual conduct in Oakland County, Mich., after a 19-year-old male hockey player told police that on Oct. 18 he was sexually assaulted during a medical exam in the basement office of the doctor’s Farmington Hills home. Levran pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Oct. 22.
He was arrested for a second time and charged with 10 counts of criminal sexual conduct on Nov. 11. Farmington Hills police said that Levran faced four new criminal complaints of sexual misconduct. Each of those complaints alleges that Levran sexually abused patients connected to youth hockey organizations during medical examinations in his home office. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment, according to the prosecutor.
Each charge out of the Farmington Hills Police Department has covered criminal sexual conduct involving Levran and a John Doe, an unidentified male. According to police, the recent charges out of West Bloomfield cover criminal sexual conduct involving Levran and Jane Doe, an unidentified female.
Earlier this month, Farmington Hills police said their office received 33 new tips reporting suspicious or potentially criminal incidents since Levran’s initial arrest, with the tips coming from individuals in local communities including Farmington Hills, Novi, Livonia, West Bloomfield and Redford, as well as in California, Georgia, North Carolina, Minnesota, Arizona and Canada. Each tip was assigned to an investigator.
Levran, 66, was referred to as the “Hockey Doc” or “Doc,” and worked as a volunteer with high school hockey programs, including those in Farmington and Novi, off and on for nearly two decades. He has also helped with the Michigan Developmental Hockey League.
GO DEEPER
How was the ‘Hockey Doc’ able to keep working with players after initial sexual assault allegations?
Levran has traveled with Team Michigan, a select group of elite players put together by MDHL, for a USA Hockey-affiliated event in Minnesota and served as an on-site physician. He performed physical examinations, treated injuries and offered soft tissue massages to players. The 19-year-old who was allegedly assaulted on Oct. 18 went to see Levran for medical treatment.
Michigan isn’t the only state where Levran worked as a hockey team doctor. From 2011 to 2018, he lived in Fergus Falls, Minn., and for a time worked as a volunteer doctor treating players at Fergus Falls High. He stopped working with athletes there in December 2017, The Athletic learned, after a 16-year-old male hockey player talked of being sexually assaulted by Levran during an examination. The player who made the allegation told The Athletic that he went to see Levran for a shoulder injury and that, after examining the player’s shoulder, Levran reached down his pants.
It does not appear, based on interviews with players and others around the Fergus Falls program, that a wide investigation into Levran’s interactions with players in Fergus Falls was conducted. Had that occurred, former players told The Athletic, it might have revealed other examples of alleged misconduct by Levran, including another instance when a second male player says he went to see Levran for a shoulder injury and had his genitalia touched.
(Photo: Sergei Belski / USA Today)
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