SUSPENDED LONGVIEW DOCTOR
On August 14, 2020, Longview police arrested a doctor whose license had just recently been temporarily suspended by the Texas Medical Board. Matt Elza Hipke, age 58, of Longview was booked into the Gregg County Jail on charges of two counts of continuous sex abuse of a child younger than 14. Each charge carries a $500,000 bond.
Hipke was arrested at his practice, Adolescent Care Team, located at 911 Walnut Hill Drive Longview, TX. According to a Texas Medical Board press release, he was suspended on Aug. 10, amidst a criminal investigation involving allegations of sexual assault of three children who were his patients.
The Board launched an internal investigation in June, when they first became aware of allegations against Hipke. According to board documents, counseling sessions with the two children described how Hipke was "massaging" their abdominal and genital areas. There was no chaperone during examinations with Hipke, and he told them "not to tell anyone about these 'examinations' " which were between April 2019 and April 2020.
A search warrant for Hipke's medical office was obtained by Longview police in July.
Board documents said, "Although (Hipke's) computer contained software to delete files, law enforcement was able to find evidence of search terms known to be used to obtain inappropriate images of children."
During the investigation, the board also learned that there had been one previous similar complaint of sexual abuse of a child patient back in 2018.
According to Hipke's website, Hipke "is a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist who extended his adult-based practice down to include teenagers over 19 years ago and now has cared for over 4600 teenagers. ... He is 'famous' for Life Skill Visits: Appointments to teach and empower teens to grow through even the toughest of life situations. In fact, he has become the 'go-to' doctor in the area for tween and teen boys with a history of abuse."
When we choose a medical doctor to treat our family's health needs, we expect a professional who practises medicine, and is concerned with maintaining, or restoring our loved one's health. Through diagnosis and treatment of disease, injury, or other mental issues, we respect and trust their opinion of how to achieve our best health. During a doctor's visit, it is expected that our family is protected from harassment and sexual abuse. All medical practitioners are entrusted to keep the Hippocratic Oath they took as medical students, which included the promise, "first, do no harm." Any doctor who sexually violates patients has no place working in the medical field and should be held accountable for their crimes.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse. If you or a loved one was sexually abused, raped or sexually molested by a doctor, nurse or any other medical professional, contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.ARRESTED, HELD ON $1 MILLION BOND