A Conway doctor who was acquitted of eight sexual-assault counts in 2018 had several remaining felony charges dropped Thursday in Faulkner County Circuit Court after prosecutors said the trial process would be too difficult for a witness to endure, officials said.
Special prosecutor Jason Barrett said in a news release that the state moved to drop the eight remaining sexual-assault counts against Dr. Robert Rook, 63, because testifying wouldn't be in the witness's best interest, mentally or physically.
"The investigation and lengthy prosecution were based upon statements of many brave women who came forward to tell their accounts of abuse they suffered at the hands of Dr. Rook," Barrett said in the release. "Today, the last of those ladies decided she could not fight any further."
As a result, Judge Charles Clawson Jr. said, Rook can't be tried again on the charges.
"Jeopardy has been applied because a jury was attached," Clawson said. "The trial is over."
Barrett said the state stood by its decision to file charges against Rook.
"From the beginning, we believe the accounts of the ladies who came forward, and today we still believe them," Barrett said in the release.
A message seeking comment left Thursday at the office of Patrick Benca, Rook's attorney, was not returned.
A jury acquitted Rook in June 2018 of eight sexual-assault counts. The jury could not reach a verdict on eight other counts, which led Clawson to declare a mistrial on those charges.
Barrett informed Clawson at that time that he intended to pursue the remaining charges: five counts of second-degree sexual assault and three counts of third-degree sexual assault.
Rook was arrested and charged in 2016 after accusations by some former patients.
A police affidavit filed in September 2016 indicated the accusers were of various ages. One woman said she turned 18 on the October 2015 day that she saw Rook for treatment of acne. Another woman with a history of psychosis was older than 65.
Many women came forward after reading about Rook's first arrest in June 2016, the affidavit indicates. One patient talked with police after she told another physician about her alleged ordeal, and that physician contacted authorities.
In August 2016, the state Medical Board lifted its suspension of Rook's medical license and said he could return to practicing medicine, but it required that Rook have a chaperone when treating patients.
State Desk on 08/16/2019