Crystal Lake physician Hiralal Maheshwari was charged with the felony of criminal sexual abuse by the McHenry County State’s Attorney, notified the state regulatory agency, but the agency did nothing for five months, rather than the five days prescribed in state law.
At minimum, a chaperone would have been required during examinations.
The Chicago Tribune reports,
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, or IDFPR, did not take any action against the licenses of at least eight health care workers for more than six months after they faced qualifying charges.
Former McHenry County State’s Attorney’s role was described in the article:
In the case of Maheshwari, former McHenry State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally did not answer Tribune questions about whom his office had contacted at the IDFPR, when the notification was made and how it was communicated.
“IDFPR opened a parallel investigation and there was a fair amount of information exchange between police, us, and IDFPR leading up to and after charges,” Kenneally said in a written statement. “So if they are saying they were not aware, that would not be accurate.”
The licensing agency did file a complaint against the doctor in February 2022, but the complaint made no mention of the criminal charges filed in December and placed no immediate restrictions on the doctor’s license. A chaperone order was not issued until May 2022.
Slaby did not answer specific questions about individual cases but said that, regardless of other communications, prosecutors are required by law to provide a copy of the criminal charges. “When that procedure is not followed, typically additional steps must be taken before the chaperone order can (be issued), which can cause delay,” he said.
Maheshwari did not respond to requests for comment for this story. Court records show that he continued to practice, with the chaperone requirement in place, even after he pleaded guilty to reduced criminal battery charges related to his conduct with two patients. His medical license was revoked in late November 2023 — nearly two years after he was first charged.
Further down in the article this appears:
Kenneally, the former McHenry County state’s attorney, said it is the office’s practice to notify IDFPR when they charge a health care worker with eligible offenses, but it’s “tricky” when the person is charged in incidents that don’t occur with patients or while at work. Police reports might not include or might have “merely referenced” a defendant’s employment, or it might not be clear from the name of the defendant’s employer that the person is a health care worker, he said.
In the two criminal cases the Tribune identified involving health care workers’ off-duty behavior in McHenry County, police records briefly mention both individuals were health care professionals.
In one case, 48 days elapsed from the time a clinical professional counselor involved in a bar fight was charged with aggravated battery and when a chaperone order was issued. In the other, an advanced practice nurse’s license remained without restrictions for roughly 113 days after he was arraigned on charges including aggravated domestic battery. That incident included allegations the nurse broke a glass jar on his wife’s head and lit her hair on fire.
In at least one county, the state’s attorney’s office was unaware of the law’s reporting requirements.
