Pediatrician Jailed

⏱ 2 min read

A former St. Louis area pediatrician, Craig A. Spiegel, 70, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for prescribing pain pills and other controlled substances in exchange for sex acts, nude photos, or cash from at least 19 patients, many of whom he began treating as children, in a scheme that lasted from at least 2014 through May 2023 in St. Louis County, Missouri.

Spiegel exploited his position to obtain cash, sexual acts, or sexual photographs from his patients, rather than referring them to treatment for their substance use disorder. He pressured and harassed reluctant patients via text messages and became sexually violent with at least one victim. Spiegel even met one of his victims when she was just seven or eight years old and initiated sexual contact years later when she was going through a divorce.

Spiegel’s crimes were only stopped by an investigation that began with the Bridgeton Police Department. He was found to have prescribed controlled substances to his co-defendant, April Bingham, in exchange for sexual favors, and he knew she was selling some of the drugs and was addicted. Spiegel also lied under oath in court, falsely claiming that he had not signed a consent form authorizing the search of his cellular phone.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric described the amount of drugs Spiegel distributed as ‘astronomical’ and said he exploited his patients’ disease for his own gratification. U.S. District Judge John A. Ross sentenced Spiegel to 20 years in prison for his crimes.