State issues charge against psychiatrist Richard J. Pines for sexual contact with foster children

August 30, 2012

The Idaho State Board of Medicine has filed a complaint against a Boise child and adolescent psychiatrist alleging he had improper sexual contact with four former patients or foster children and had a three-year affair with a patient to whom he was prescribing painkillers.

The complaint against Dr. Richard J. Pines alleges abuses dating back to June 2001. He has denied the allegations in his response to the board.

The board's complaint alleges that in two cases Pines said he needed to perform naked massages to maintain his medical license, in one case he took naked pictures of a 14-year-old patient at his cabin and told a former foster child that he needed a "test patient" on which to practice hernia exams.

The board seeks a hearing on whether Pines' license should be revoked.

Source: "Medical board files complaint against Boise doctor," The Associated Press, August 27, 2012.