In her first visit with chiropractor Dale Heath, the woman dismissed the uneasiness she felt when he touched her chest. After all, there was a female chaperone in the room at that February 2015 appointment, observing the treatment.
So she went back to the Orem chiropractor several more times. But the now-32-year-old woman later wrote in a statement to police that during her third appointment, as Heath massaged her back and hips, he also repeatedly touched her genitals.
This time, she didn’t believe it was an accident.
Later that day, the woman visited the website for Utah’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL), intending to report how Heath had touched her.
She was shocked to discover he was already on probation with DOPL. The agency had authorized him to continue practicing, even though two other women had accused him of inappropriate touching during treatments. The chaperone in the room, it turned out, had been a DOPL requirement for Heath to keep his chiropractic license.
The woman’s March 2015 police report led prosecutors to file criminal charges five months later, accusing Heath of sexual battery against her, as well as object rape and sexual battery of another patient he treated in 2012.
Despite the charges — and additional reports of inappropriate touching that trickled in over several years — Heath’s chiropractic license has remained active. He continued treating patients until a jury last September convicted him of sexual abuse from the 2012 case, and he was taken to the Utah County jail to await sentencing.
“I wonder how many women have left his office feeling uncomfortable with him without realizing his actions were blatantly inappropriate,” the woman wrote in her 2015 statement to Orem police.
“I believe his license should be revoked. At the very least, he should never be allowed to treat female patients,” she wrote. “No women should be subjected to the fear, confusion, disgust and shock I experienced because of his actions.”
Chiropractic license
Reports about Heath inappropriately touching female patients began coming in nearly seven years ago, as did legal and administrative actions.
June 2011 • After a woman reported inappropriate touching, Heath received a warning letter from DOPL, saying officials would not investigate further because Heath promised he would “examine and adjust” his practices.
DOPL spokeswoman Jennifer Bolton said such warning letters are sometimes issued after “lesser offenses or allegations that lack necessary evidence.” Orem police also looked into the incident, but did not bring the case to prosecutors, according to Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride.
December 2012 • Another woman said Heath touched her inappropriately. This time, police forwarded the case to prosecutors, who initially declined to file charges.
McBride, who was the trial prosecutor, could not say specifically why the case was not filed during the first review; he was not involved in that decision. But, generally speaking, he said sex abuse cases are among the most difficult to prove at trial with a single accuser against a potential perpetrator.
“That’s a very difficult case to prove when the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said. “The more corroborating evidence, the better.”
September 2014 • Though prosecutors did not immediately file charges in the 2012 case, DOPL decided to take action and placed Heath on five years’ probation.
Heath denied inappropriate-touching allegations, but told DOPL investigators that during treatments, he had “incidentally touched areas which caused the patients to be concerned.” He acknowledged this was unprofessional.
During probation, Heath was required to treat female patients with a chaperone in the room. DOPL officials required he get a psychosexual evaluation, advise female patients to cover private areas with their hands during treatment, and pay for an agency-approved supervisor whom he had to meet with regularly to discuss topics such as professional ethics and “avoiding professional boundary violations.”
March 2015 • Another woman reported to police that, the month before, Heath touched her inappropriately.
July 2015 • DOPL officials filed another order against Heath, saying he had violated several terms of his probation.
The order stated he submitted inaccurate logs — which were intended to document when chaperones were used — and several times began treatment without a chaperone present. Sometimes, the documents said, he had treated the female chaperones themselves, without another chaperone in the room.
Still, Heath didn’t lose his license. Instead, he received a public reprimand and was instructed to submit accurate logs from preapproved chaperones.
September 2015 • Criminal charges were filed against Heath in connection with the 2012 and 2015 reports. But he continued working as the case played out, his license unaffected.
Bolton said in an email that, in general, criminal charges are enough to start a DOPL investigation, but not enough to revoke a license. She said a “serious conviction is often enough to revoke a DOPL license,” and that the agency makes such licensing decisions on a case-by-case basis.
“Any health care provider who sexually assaults patients,” she said, “can expect a high priority investigation.”
September 2017 • A four-day trial was held in connection with the 2012 case. Jurors heard testimony from the victim, as well as the two women who reported in 2011 and 2015. The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse.
The 4th District Court jury convicted Heath of first-degree felony object rape, second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse and three counts of misdemeanor sexual battery.
A separate case involving the woman who reported Heath in 2015 is still pending. There, the chiropractor is charged with two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery.
He also faces a felony charge for giving false statements under oath for allegedly lying on the witness stand during his trial about whether he had a chaperone present during treatments.
At least two women have said Heath did not have a chaperone present during their treatments, according to prosecutors.
A prison sentence
By the time Heath was sentenced to prison earlier this month, a total of seven women had come forward with allegations of sexual abuse.
The earliest was in 2002 — a woman who said Heath touched her genitals for an extended period of time during treatment. She didn’t report the abuse until 2016, after seeing a news report about Heath’s pending charges.
The abuse, however, had lasting effects, she wrote in a 2017 statement submitted by prosecutors to the court ahead of Heath’s sentencing hearing.
“I deeply regret,” she wrote, “that I didn’t speak up sooner so I could have protected others.”
Another woman, who said Heath touched her inappropriately in 2005, also did not tell authorities until she looked up Heath’s name online in 2016 and saw a news story. She wrote in her statement that she didn’t report him initially because she doubted any action would be taken with so little evidence.
“I also kept second-guessing myself because this guy was a doctor and maybe I was making too big of a deal about it all,” the woman wrote. “I did think about my experience with Dr. Heath over the years, and never could shake the feeling I should somehow report him.”
At Heath’s Jan. 9 sentencing, Judge Derek Pullan commented that it was “most concerning” that new allegations of inappropriate touching were reported as recently as October 2016 — a year after the chiropractor was charged with sexual abuse.
The judge sentenced Heath to a five years to life in prison, despite nearly 200 letters of support from family members, friends and former patients.
Defense attorney Carl Anderson argued at sentencing that the community was better because of Heath. He has been a Boy Scout leader, the attorney said, and is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Losing his chiropractic license, Anderson argued, was enough to protect the public.
But, as of Monday, Heath’s license was still listed as active on DOPL’s website.
Bolton, the agency’s spokeswoman, said because Heath is now “locked up and does not pose a threat,” it is expected that the issue of revoking his license would be handled at the next Chiropractic Physicians Board Meeting in April.
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