- April 26, 2024
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A Flagler County doctor who in August agreed to surrender his license in connection with a Department of Health investigation about a patient's allegation that he groped her breasts has now been charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery after multiple other patients reported similar incidents to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
The initial complaint against suspect Florence Fruehan, 59, came from a 54-year-old woman who'd attended Palm Coast Urgent Care for a prescription authorization on Aug. 24. Fruehan, she said, asked her about her marriage, and she told him she was a widow. He then told her she was due for a mammogram. She asked him for a referral to an OB/GYN. He then groped her breasts through her blouse.
“I am very proud of our detectives and the excellent work they have done following every lead to make sure this individual is held responsible for the trauma that he has caused to victims. ... We are still investigating other allegations against him. We are asking anyone who may have been assaulted to come forward so we can make sure this guy never has the opportunity to victimize someone again.”
— RICK STALY, Flagler County Sheriff
She reported the incident to the Sheriff's Office the following day, and the Department of Health began its own investigation and ordered an emergency restriction of Fruehan's license, barring him from being alone with female patients.
"At no point did [the victim] give 'permission' or 'ok' to Dr. Fruehan to touch her breasts," a Sheriff's Office charging affidavit states. "Dr. Fruehan had no medical reason to touch the breasts of [the victim], especially after her specifically asking for a referral to an OB/GYN for a mammogram."
After the 55-year-old patient reported the incident and the investigation began, "this Detective was contacted by numerous female patients who provided sworn statements to law enforcement advising the same inappropriate actions against them," Detective Elizabeth Conrad wrote in Fruehan's charging affidavit.
The charging affidavit, for a single charge of battery in connection with the incident involving the 54-year-old woman, recounts some of the other women's statements:
A 50-year-old woman said that when she visited Fruehan in Sept. 2016 for a prescription refill, Fruehan pulled her into a small, dark room — later revealed to be an exam room —near the front desk, then "pushed on both of her breasts while stating he needed to check something real quick. The female was very puzzled and left the office and never returned," the charging affidavit states.
A 70-year-old woman visited Fruehan sometime between January and April 2015. He took her by her arm, led her into a darkened exam room across from the reception desk, pulled up her shirt and grabbed her breasts with his hands. She reacted and asked him what he was doing, and he said, “I’m checking for skin cancer,” according to the affidavit. She replied, “Not like that.” "Dr. Fruehan told her not to say anything and that he owned half the block," the affidavit states. "She left and never returned."
In March 2016, a 74-year-old woman visited Fruehan for a routine checkup. They spoke about her husband, who had recently died. He performed her checkup, then walked her into his office, locked the door, unzipped her vest, unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse and began grabbing her breasts. "Moments later Dr. Fruehan stopped touching her breasts and exited the office," the charging affidavit states. "She couldn’t believe what was happening and was in complete shock and exited the office as quickly as possible and never returned."
Those women told the detective that they hadn't reported the incidents originally because of fear or embarrassment.
Fruehan "shows a pattern of violating the rights of female patients that appear to he vulnerable form being on specific medications and/or family losses," the affidavit states.
The case that led to the second battery charge against Fruehan involved a 39-year-old woman who saw Fruehan in September 2016 to get a physical for insurance reasons. She attended his office with her 2-year-old child. She noted to the detective that when she was in Fruehan's waiting room, she could hear the staff using obscene language when talking about other patients.
When Fruehan called her in for a physical, he asked her some questions, told her to lay down and then began touching her legs. Then he told her to sit up and touched her back, then her breasts, under her shirt.
The woman "said that she felt violated and very uncomfortable because there was not a nurse or a female assistant in the room during the exam and that her two-year-old child was in the room with her," according to the charging affidavit. The woman decided to sign charges against Fruehan.
When the detective spoke with Fruehan, he denied all wrongdoing and said he hadn't performed breast exams for the past four years. He said he only did heart and lung exams and had never groped a breast and that people were misinterpreting his behavior, according to the charging affidavit.
In many cases reported to the Sheriff's Office concerning Fruehan, the statute of limitations had expired, and he could not be charged, according to a Sheriff's Office news release. More allegations are still under investigation, and more charges may be filed in the future, according to the news release.
The Sheriff's Office has asked that anyone who was a patient of Dr. Fruehan and feels they had an inappropriate experience with him contact the Sheriff's Office at 386-313-4911 to file a formal complaint.
“I am very proud of our detectives and the excellent work they have done following every lead to make sure this individual is held responsible for the trauma that he has caused to victims,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in the news release. “Unfortunately, the statute of limitations makes it impossible to charge him on every alleged assault. We are still investigating other allegations against him. We are asking anyone who may have been assaulted to come forward so we can make sure this guy never has the opportunity to victimize someone again.”
