RICHMOND

State health officials revoked the license of a Virginia Beach chiropractor Friday night after hearing more than two hours of testimony from patients who said he touched them in a sexually inappropriate manner, and even engaged in sex acts during treatment sessions.

The Virginia Board of Medicine voted unanimously to revoke the license of Jerry Hedrick, who has been accused by seven patients of acting inappropriately during treatment sessions. One of those patients also filed a sexual battery charge against him, which will go to trial in Virginia Beach in May.

The board spent less than 15 minutes in a closed-session deliberation before announcing the revocation, which is the strongest action it can take and is rarely used. The board had suspended his license in March, pending the formal hearing Friday.

One patient, described as Patient A in Board of Medicine records, testified Hedrick ran his hands across her buttocks, breasts and between her legs during her third chiropractic session with him. She was so appalled, she filed a sexual battery charge against him in Virginia Beach in October, two days after the treatment session.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 24 and a trial for May 16 in that case, which Hedrick appealed after a December conviction in lower court.

Patient A testified Hedricks hands went underneath her underwear and his fingers touched her skin at the top of her buttocks. He also moved her head by grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling on it. He inappropriately massaged her chest area through her clothing, ran his hands across her breast and touched her vaginal area through her clothing.

At the conclusion of the session, he asked how it felt to be ravaged on your birthday.

She called a friend and said she thought her chiropractor had molested her.

Asked why she was testifying, Patient A said, He doesnt need to be doing this to people, period.

She said she found him through her companys health insurance program, and didnt want other women to experience the same thing.

Three other patients testified in person, and another by telephone.

The patients involved in the Board of Medicine case ranged in age from 21 to 48, and reported inappropriate sexual behavior dating back as far as 2004.

Hedrick sent the board a letter saying he would not appear at Saturdays hearing. In the past, he has declined comment to The Virginian-Pilot on the accusations. The patients names are not being used to protect their privacy.

A patient identified as Patient B said Hedrick straddled the table behind her and held his groin area against her buttocks during a 2013 session. She immediately got up, told him point-blank what he was doing was wrong and left. She also reported him to the insurance company who covered the treatment.

Not all the patients testified willingly.

One, described as Patient C, said she was testifying because she received a subpoena. Between August 2008 and April 2009, Hedrick kissed the woman, who was 31, massaged her upper-chest muscles while she was uncovered from the waist up and brushed his hand across her nipples.

He sent text messages to this patient suggesting oral orgasms. One text said: Do you like erotic stories? I sometimes like to write them. Pretty hot. Even working on a pirate-themed one.

Hedrick unzipped his pants and began rubbing his erect, exposed penis against her.

In one case, he seemed to acknowledge crossing professional boundaries: I apologize if I ever made you uncomfortable if so, I am truly sorry. I will remain professional if that is what you want.

He engaged in kissing, genital touching, oral sex and sexual intercourse with this patient at his office, sometimes after appointments.

I felt like I was living out his porn fantasies, the woman testified during the hearing.

The woman said she understands the doctor-patient boundaries of medical doctors,but was unclear about chiropractors. She said she and a few other patients involved in this case met Hedrick through a history re-enactment group called Blackbeards Crew.

I didnt want to get Dr. Hedrick in trouble, she testified. I felt just as responsible as he was.

One board member, Dr. Lori Conklin, asked whether she thought Hedrick had brought the trouble on himself by violating the doctor-patient relationship, and whether she was concerned about other women who might be treated the same way.

It was a shock to learn he was coming on to women with unwanted advances, Patient C testified.

Another patient testified by phone that Hedrick had used what was called trigger point treatment, in which he used his gloved hand to touch her pelvic area to treat pelvic floor dysfunction. She felt he eventually moved into movements that were meant to be sexually arousing rather than as treatment, and she quit seeing him.

Tracy Robinson, a lawyer with the Virginia Department of Health Professions who was presenting the case to the board, said Hedrick made a point of being a solo practitioner with no employees in order to prey on female patients for his sexual gratification. He also talked to patients about other patients he was treating, a violation of patient confidentiality.

Testimony indicated the Department of Health Professions had investigated Hedrick in the past, and that he denied acting inappropriately, and agreed to create an office setting with more people so he would not be treating patients as a lone practitioner. He also said he would give more verbal cues so that patients would not misinterpret his treatment.

But Robinson said he continued the same pattern of practicing in a solo atmosphere, to enable him to find new victims to exploit.

The board unanimously agreed with Robinsons recommendation of a revocation. Hedrick will not be able to reapply for a license for five years.

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Board of Medicine revokes license of Virginia Beach chiropractor accused of sexual misconduct - Virginian-Pilot