An Indianapolis-based doctor accused of impregnating his patients without their knowledge will reportedly plead guilty to obstruction of justice charges.
Paternity tests reportedly confirmed that Dr. Donald Cline, 78, fathered two of his patients’ children.
Those children claimed online genetic tests suggested that the septuagenarian fathered 20 other half-siblings, the Indianapolis Star reported.
“This wasn’t just a handful of kids or mothers that this happened to that resulted into a handful of children. We’re now into several dozen. And it’s going to continue to grow,” Matt White, whose mother was one of Cline’s patients, told the Associated Press.
Speaking with WXIN, Cline reportedly confessed to using his own sperm because he thought he was helping families who were having trouble conceiving children on their own.
About a dozen of Cline’s former patients—and their adult children—appeared in court Tuesday as Cline’s attorney requested a change of plea hearing. The 78-year-old was not present for the most recent hearing, according to the Star.
In 2014, some of Cline’s supposed children became suspicious of the doctor’s practices and filed a complaint with the Indiana attorney general’s office. They became increasingly concerned after DNA tests allegedly determined that more than three of them were fathered by the same person.
The obstruction charges stemmed from Cline denying using his sperm in letters sent to investigators. Meanwhile, the doctor met with several of his patients’ children and admitted to using his own sperm on multiple occasions.
Cline, who retired in 2009, is expected to admit in court on December 14 that he lied to officers investigating him. Additional charges weren’t filed against him since it’s not illegal in Indiana for fertility doctors to use their own sperm.
Amber Stafford, whose mother was Cline’s patient 30 years ago, commented, “We want to stop this from happening again because it was wrong on so many levels.”
“Even though there are no laws against it, it was wrong and he needs to own up to what he did and we need to prevent this from happening again.”
[Featured Image: Indiana Police Department]
