Image sources: Dr. Patrick Clyne, courtesy of The Mercury News.
For more than two decades, oven a dozen former foster youth and pediatric patients have accused Dr. Patrick Stephen Clyne of sexual abuse. Yet despite concerns surfacing repeatedly, he remained in roles that placed him in close contact with children in both Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties.
Allegations against him first emerged in the early 2000s, resurfaced in later years, and ultimately culminated in the 2025 surrender of his California medical license. He has never been criminally charged or arrested.
Clyne has denied all abuse allegations, asserting that his examinations were “misrepresented.”
Early 2000s: Allegations From Foster Youth in Santa Clara County
“Clyne worked as the chief pediatrician for foster children in Santa Clara County, beginning in 1996. He also served as an expert witness for the local District Attorney’s Office.” (The Imprint)
Along with his role as a physician for children in the welfare system, Clyne was a former foster and adoptive parent.
Allegations against Clyne first surfaced in 2001, and San Jose police opened an investigation. Three foster children, including Kyle and his foster brother Max, reported that Clyne had sexually abused them.
Investigators considered the allegations serious enough to take the case to a Santa Clara County criminal grand jury and recommended that charges be filed. Kyle and Max testified about the abuse, but the grand jury did not return an indictment. Clyne ultimately returned to work at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and continued to have access to vulnerable children.
2009-2014: Continued Concerns Regarding Dr. Clyne
In 2009, new accusations surfaced, this time involving his pediatric patients. According to The Imprint, “Between 2009 and 2011, another 10 children between the ages of 8 and 11 years old reported to law enforcement that Clyne sexually abused them during what should have been routine medical examinations. The exams as described by the children were so invasive that other doctors found them ‘extraordinarily uncommon,’ ‘bizarre’ and ‘suspicious,’ criminal investigators reported.”
In 2011, the “District Attorney’s Office notified defense attorneys that there was ‘substantial evidence that Dr. Clyne committed multiple crimes of moral turpitude, specifically sexual assaults.’” (The Imprint)
He was then terminated from his role within Santa Clara County, where he had worked for 14 years.
In 2011, the Medical Board of California was notified of the concerns surrounding Clyne, but no disciplinary action was taken at that time
Clyne attempted to apply for a medical license in New Mexico. “But he withdrew his application after that state’s medical board found he had not disclosed his suspensions and firing.” (The Imprint)
In 2013, the California Department of Social Services prohibited Clyne from becoming a foster parent at any time, preventing him from working with either children or adults in state-licensed care facilities. The following year, the state “also barred Clyne from serving on a board of directors, as an officer or executive director of any state-licensed facility.” (The Imprint) He was also barred from registering with TrustLine, California’s background-checked database for nannies, babysitters, and in-home caregivers.
Complaints Emerge in Santa Cruz County
By the mid-2010s, Clyne was practicing in Santa Cruz County, first at the Pediatric Medical Group of Watsonville and later at his clinic in Freedom, California. There are allegations that during this time, Dr. Clyne performed inappropriate or medically unnecessary examinations.
In May 2018, a parent reported “strange medical practices” during her child’s examination while she was present in the room. The complaint prompted a joint investigation by the Medical Board of California and the Watsonville Police Department.
According to The Imprint, “the Santa Cruz County District Attorney declined to press criminal charges in the case, citing the difficulty obtaining a high enough burden of proof.”
Clyne publicly denied any wrongdoing, appearing “puzzled” over the fact that he was being investigated.
“Over the years, Child Protective Services in Santa Clara County has received numerous calls reporting allegations of sexual abuse by Clyne from social workers, parents, guardians, therapists, a juvenile probation officer and staff at two residential group homes, court records show.” (The Imprint)
Yet Dr. Clyne’s license was not suspended and no disciplinary action was taken.
2020: Former Foster Youth, Kyle, Files a Civil Lawsuit
In 2020, a former foster youth identified in court filings as Kyle filed a civil lawsuit in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. Kyle had been placed in Clyne’s home as a child through the foster-care system and was later adopted by him. He alleges that Clyne sexually abused him beginning when he was 8 years old. According to The Imprint, “as a young teen, Kyle fled back to his mother, telling her and a juvenile probation officer that Clyne had repeatedly sexually abused him at the doctor’s home.”
Reflecting on the earlier criminal process and experience of testifying before a grand jury in 2002, Kyle told The Mercury News in 2013, “‘I can’t believe the justice system is like this, that they let this go on,’” explaining that his hope had always been to prevent Clyne from hurting another child.
The 2020 lawsuit became possible only after California expanded its statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, allowing adults survivors to file claims that had long been time-barred.
Public reporting has not documented whether the lawsuit has been resolved, and no final outcome has been announced.
2021–2024: Expanded Allegations and Medical Board Enforcement
In 2021, the California Attorney General filed an accusation seeking to revoke Clyne’s medical license. The initial filing alleged “unprofession acts” and “gross negligence” involving six patients.
“The filing details accounts of sexually abusive exams on children in Clyne’s private practice near Watsonville between 2014 and 2019, alleging he told them to walk naked in his office and examined their genitals without gloves or apparent medical necessity.” (The Imprint)
Later amendments expanded the allegations to a total of twelve child victims, documenting examinations that lacked medical justification, were conducted without caregivers or chaperones present, or departed from accepted pediatric practice.
2025: License Surrender and the End of His Medical Career
In 2025, the California Medical Board accepted Clyne’s surrender of his medical license, permanently ending his ability to practice medicine and avoiding a public hearing.
The Order states that he “shall lose all rights and privileges as a physician and surgeon in California as of June 13, 2025.”
This surrender resolved the administrative case but did not affect the ongoing civil lawsuit or any potential future claims.
Action Was Needed
When the full timeline is viewed together, it reveals how many opportunities were missed to intervene. Reports of concerning behavior surfaced in 2001, again in 2009, throughout the 2010s, and later in state disciplinary filings beginning in 2021. At each of these points, actions could and should have been taken to limit Clyne’s continued access to children. Instead, concerns accumulated over decades, leaving vulnerable youth at risk far longer than they should have been.
These missed opportunities are especially significant because youth, particularly those in foster care, face profound barriers when disclosing sexual abuse, especially when the alleged perpetrator is a physician charged with their care.
Children may struggle to explain what happened, fear being blamed or dismissed, or believe that adults will not protect them. Those realities make decisive institutional responses essential. When concerns are reported, institutionsmust act swiftly and collectively to protect children before more harm occurs.
Legal Options for Survivors
Even though the criminal process did not result in charges against Clyne, survivors are not without recourse.
Civil law offers a separate path toward accountability — one that focuses on uncovering what happened inside the institutions responsible for oversight, identifying systemic failures, and pursuing compensation for the harm endured.
Survivors of institutional sexual abuse often carry the burden of silence for years. Coming forward is never easy, but civil action can provide a measure of truth, justice, and healing that the criminal process alone may not be able to offer.
If You Were Harmed by Dr. Clyne
If you experienced inappropriate touching, medically unnecessary genital examinations, or any interaction during an appointment with Dr. Clyne that made you feel uncomfortable or unsure, you are not alone. Many survivors, especially those who were children at the time of their abuse, struggle for years to understand what happened or to feel safe speaking about it.
Coming forward is an act of courage, and support is available.
Andreozzi + Foote represents survivors of sexual abuse nationwide in cases involving doctors, hospitals, foster-care agencies, and other institutions responsible for protection. A civil claim can help uncover what occurred inside the systems that allowed abuse to persist, hold the responsible parties accountable, and seek compensation for the emotional and physical harm caused.
We offer free and confidential consultations to help survivors understand their rights, ask questions, and explore the next steps toward healing and justice.
All consultations are free and completely confidential.
Contact us today.
