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A former chiropractor in Ogden has pleaded guilty to a lewdness charge in connection with allegations that he sexually assaulted a female patient in his office.
Michael W. Wimmer, 68, pleaded guilty in 2nd District Court on Wednesday to one count of third-degree felony lewdness — an enhanced charge based on two prior lewdness convictions, according to court records.
Wimmer was originally charged with second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse, but the charge was reduced as part of a plea deal.
In a plea agreement document, Wimmer admits performing an act of lewdness "under circumstances which he should have known were likely to cause affront or alarm to another person."
Wimmer faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced on May 27, but prosecutors intend to ask the judge for 30 days in jail, probation and the cancellation of Wimmer's professional license, according to court records. The plea agreement document states that Wimer has already surrendered his chiropractic license.
Wimmer was accused of clutching a woman's breasts and buttocks during an appointment last June at Wimmer Chiropractic Center, 413 Washington Blvd. in Ogden.
Prosecutor Ben Willoughby said of Wimmer's two prior lewdness convictions that one occurred in California in the 1970s, and the other was in Utah in 1994. Department of Professional Licensing records show that in November 1994, Wimmer pleaded no contest to misdemeanor lewdness involving a patient.
DOPL records also show that in October 2006, Wimmer's license was revoked after he stipulated to having acted in "an inappropriately sexual manner" with another female patient, but DOPL stayed the revocation on condition of a three-year probation.
One of the terms of Wimmer's 2006 probation was that he undergo, at his own expense, a psychosexual evaluation. In October 2009, having met the probationary terms, his license was formally reinstated.