-
Holmes
Over noted objection by the victim of a Beaumont doctor’s sexual assault, Dr. Michael Wesley Holmes accepted a plea bargain deal giving deferred probation for admitted criminal acts that he perpetrated on a patient under his care in 2018.
“She does not want to do the plea bargain,” Jefferson County prosecutor Tatiana Zelezniak advised 252nd District Court Judge Raquel West on Sept. 20, asking for the court’s blessing to enter into a plea deal with the defendant anyway. “I explained to her it’s really my case.”
Case No. 36720, assigned to the district attorney’s office in 2021, alleges that then-70-year-old Dr. Michael Wesley Holmes assaulted a patient twice the week of Oct.16, 2018, at Medical Plus on Phelan Blvd. Holmes only faced one single sexual assault charge from the assault that reportedly occurred over a two-day span of time.
According to the probable cause affidavit for Holmes’ arrest, the doctor locked the door to an exam room and advised the victim to a raise her shirt while on the exam table. The victim told police that, for approximately eight minutes, Holmes “touched her private areas without consent” and “put his mouth on her body.”
“(The victim) advised this was making her uncomfortable and she attempted to raise up off the exam bed. At this point, Holmes pushed her back down on the exam bed and continued…” the affidavit detailed.
Returning to retrieve paperwork from the medical facility the following day, the victim told investigators, she was routed to Dr. Holmes personally. When she saw the doctor on the return visit, Holmes allegedly sexually assaulted the woman again.
A subsequent search warrant for DNA cheek swabs from Holmes revealed a match between DNA swabs taken from an area of the victim’s body when tested at a Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab.
April 23, 2021, with Holmes facing a second-degree felony offense of sexual assault, the Texas Medical Board temporarily suspended the Johns Hopkins-trained physician’s medical license. According to the determination of a disciplinary panel of the Texas Medical Board, “his continuation in the practice of medicine poses a continuing threat to public welfare.” The temporary suspension remains in place until the board takes further action.
Sept. 20, standing before a handful of spectators including his defense attorney and the woman who accused him of sexual assault, Holmes pleaded guilty to the sex crime, and confirmed he was of sound mind to do so.
In exchange for his admission of guilt, the district attorney’s office has agreed to punishment not exceeding five years of deferred adjudicated probation and a $2,500 fine to go along with restitution that may be added at a later date.
“There could be upfront jail time,” Judge West added, though not part of the defendant’s plea agreement, to be considered at sentencing. Holmes will also be required to register as a sex offender. If Holmes had proceeded to trial and been convicted, he faced 2 – 20 years in prison.
The victim, who was present and requested to address the court to oppose the deal for probation, was not heard at this appearance; instead, she was advised of her right to speak at a subsequent sentencing hearing not yet on a calendar.
“I trust Ms. Zelezniak as much as I probably trust anyone up in the District Attorney’s Office to be a real advocate for people,” West said. “I’m going to trust her reasoning behind this is a good one.”
An ultimate decision on whether to accept the plea bargain will be made at sentencing, a date which was unavailable at press time. The victim was advised of her rights to be at sentencing and to testify, as well as make a victim’s impact statement.