Former Mason County physician Dr. Jack M. Levine ducks behind his attorney Thomas Spetnagle as they enter the building leading to the Pike County Court on Jan. 16. Levine was scheduled to reply to the allegations he had inappropriate sexual contact with a female patient, but the pre-trial conference was postponed due to the prosecution’s failure to turn over certain documents in time. (Photo by Lawrence Smith)
WAVERLY, Ohio –- A pre-trial conference scheduled in the case of a former Mason County physician charged with sexual imposition has been delayed due to the failure of the state to turn over certain documents in a timely fashion.
Dr. Jack M. Levine was scheduled to be in Pike County Court on Jan. 16 to respond to the allegations he had inappropriate sexual contact with one of his patients. According to court records, Levine was arrested and charged with one count of sexual imposition, a misdemeanor, last month following a compliant one of his female patients lodged against him with authorities.
About 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the hearing, Levine showed up with this attorney, Thomas Spetnagel, with the Chillicothe law firm of Spetnagel and McMahon. Levine and Spetnagel promptly walked into the courtroom while media and the public were kept outside until the clerk called the case.
After about 30 minutes, a clerk came outside and said the hearing was to be rescheduled. The reason for the rescheduling, she said, was because the prosecutor’s office had not provided certain documents to Spetnagle in time for Wednesday’s hearing.
It was not immediately clear as to what the documents were as upon announcement the hearing was postponed the assistant prosecutor was handling other cases, and Levine and Spetnagle exited the building out a side entrance.
Attempts to obtain a comment from Spetnagle and Pike County Prosecutor Robert Junk were unsuccessful as both did not return calls prior to presstime.
A call to the Court clerk’s office prior to presstime revealed that a new hearing date had not been rescheduled.
Pike, Ohio County Court, Case No. 07-CRB-1035