Utah Child Psychiatrist David F. Wilson: State Lifts Restrictions but Board Records Tell the Full Story

November 13, 2023

Utah child psychiatrist David Ford Wilson came under criminal prosecution in early 2013, on charges of having accessed child pornography on his work computer. This was the result of an investigation by the security division of Intermountain Hospital (his then-employer) and federal investigators. He was subsequently terminated from his position at Intermountain's McKay-Dee Hospital on April 30, 2013. The state medical licensing board, which had begun investigating earlier, held its first hearing in the matter on August 23, 2013 and subsequently suspended his license for approximately five years. The criminal charges were ultimately dismisssed and his license was reinstated with a restriction on treating children but this too was ultimately lifted. Publicly accessible documents on the Utah Department of Occupational & Professional Licensing website contain the facts which formed the basis of the criminal charges and license suspension. 

TIME LINE

2006: Wilson graduated from the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, Des Moines, IA

3/7/08: Wilson was first licensed in Iowa. That license expired in 2011 and was not renewed.

8/9/11: Wilson obtained a license to practice in Utah and worked as a child psychiatrist at McKay-Dee Hospital, which is operated by Intermountain Healthcare.   

4/30/13: Wilson came under investigation of Intermountain Hospital Security and the Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC), which found that since January 2013, he had been viewing child pornography at work. Wilson’s employment and hospital privileges were terminated. He “admitted to Human Resources Director at Intermountain that he had been viewing child pornography and stated that he has had a problem with it for years.” (Emergency Order in the Matter of the License of David Ford Wilson, MD to Practice as an Osteopathic Physician, Case No. DOPL 2013-363, August 27, 2013)

8/27/13: The Utah Division of Occupation and Professional Licensing (DOPL) issued an emergency order suspending Wilson’s medical license. The DOPL’s document states that Intermountain security and the ICAC found that following terms had been searched by Wilson:

• Preteen models
• Humping
• Pantie dance
• Little girl models
• Young Russian models
• Korean models
• Nude photos of princes Kate
• Dancing in underwear
• Pole orgasm
• Hot preteen models
• 4 star young sexy preteen models
• I-like preteen.net
• Shameless preteens

Further, the document stated that “Since January 2013, a forensic review of Respondent’s work computer hard drive revealed that Respondent had looked at, in part, the following child pornography:

• Nude images of what appeared to be preteen girls
• Numerous images of young girls in very little clothing
• Numerous images of young girls in suggestive poses
• Close up shots, with minimal or not clothing from below the waist areas of what appear to be young girls (These images did not show faces)
• Images of website which appear to be offering videos of young models
• Images of magazine covers/websites entitled “Numphets.”

The children appeared to be between the ages of 6 and 12 years old. In addition, there were several hundred images of child erotica, young females approximately ages 8-12 who were scantily clad, posed in a suggestive or sexual manner. (Emergency Order in the Matter of the License of David Ford Wilson, MD to Practice as an Osteopathic Physician, Case No. DOPL 2013-363, August 27, 2013)

9/30/13: Media reported that Wilson, “a child psychiatrist at an Ogden hospital,” was under investigation for having accessed child pornography through his work computer. The hospital was noted to be McKay-Dee Hospital and that Wilson was fired. (“Ogden child psychiatrist investigated for child pornography,” The Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 9, 2013)

11/28/16: Media reported that the judge in the case against Wilson dismissed all 15 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Wilson had downloaded child pornography on his work computer. The judge stated that prosecutors did not produce “believable evidence.” While the hospital’s IT person had received a security flag showing that an employee “dfwilson” had visited a porn site, the defense’s computer forensic expert testified that just evidence that someone went to a website doesn’t necessarily mean he or she actually visited the site. The expert said a more reliable way to know if a person viewed certain images is if he or she searched for them, downloaded them, or saved them in a file and viewed them again. (“Child pornography charges dismissed against former McKay-Dee Hospital doctor,” Standard Examiner, November 28, 2016)

July 10, 2017: Wilson’s Utah medical license had expired during his prosecution and license suspension and he applied, to reactive his license. It was denied. (Stipulated Order, Utah DOPL, Oct. 30, 2018, p. 3)

October 30, 2018: Wilson entered into a Stipulated Order with the Utah DOPL restoring his license but placing it on probation for five years, but only after he was examined and found to be fit for practice. Conditions of the Order included a permanent cease and desist from treating any patient, male or female, who is under 18 years of age. The document states that as part of the Order, Wilson admitted that the following was true:

          “Respondent admitted that he had engaged in inappropriate conduct at work by viewing 'preteen modeling sites.' The Respondent acknowledged the need for and received counseling for this inappropriate conduct.”

Wilson, in entering into the order, waived his right to defense in the matter, seeking to resolve it expeditiously through the DOPL order.

3/7/19: DOPL issued Amended Order citing Wilson to have been declared fit for duty and issued his license, on probation for five years, as described in the October 2018 Stipulated Order.

2/17/22: DOPL issued another Amended Order terminating Wilson’s probation except for the permanent cease and desist on treating children under age 18.

11/13/23: DOPL issued an Order Terminating License Restriction, lifting the cease and desist on treating children under age 18.