Judge: Farmington hockey doctor touched patients for sexual pleasure

Jun 29, 2023

Farmington Hills — There is enough evidence for a Metro Detroit urologist accused of sexually assaulting 10 male patients in Farmington Hills, several of them while they were children, to stand trial, an Oakland County judge ruled Tuesday.

Urologist Zvi Levran is facing 22 third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charges in Farmington Hills connected to the alleged sexual assaults of 10 former hockey players who went to the urologist for treatment. Levran had a reputation in youth hockey circles for being eccentric, but nearly all who testified said they trusted Levran and believed what he was doing was medically necessary at the time — or they were too shocked to stop him.

Levran has been involved with various youth hockey teams for more than two decades. Most of the men who testified initially met Levran through hockey when they were teenagers and returned to him for treatment later in their lives.

"All of the victims testified at the exam and all talked about the relationship they had with (Levran)," Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Rob VanWert said. "Many of those relationships started in high school. (Levran) used that relationship and violated these individuals."

Farmington District Court Judge James Brady sent all 22 charges to circuit court and said each situation had one common purpose: "to satisfy the sexual desire of the defendant."

Because Levran was so many things — the team doctor, the yoga instructor, the confidant, the one who ran Friday night skates — it was difficult to separate when he wore each hat, Brady said. Most people trust their family doctor because they have gone to them for some time, the judge said.

"I just think the level of trust these kids had in the defendant was such a high level that they could, in the moment, go along with it, thinking, 'Well, this is Doc, this is the guy, whatever he is doing is right,'" Brady said. "That's where I'm at at this point of time. This isn't right."

Levran's attorney, Jonathan Jones, said in a medical setting, solely touching someone's genitals is not a crime.

"There are elements within this that may seem bizarre, that may seem eccentric …, but those in and of themselves do not rise to the level of a crime," Jones said.

Brady struggled to accept Jones' argument that the touching was not for a sexual purpose. He questioned Jones multiple times about how he was supposed to know why Levran touched the men and boys.

"Your argument suggests then that doctors and yoga teachers get a free pass," Brady said. "That I'd just have to accept they didn't do it for a sexual purpose."

The complainants testified at earlier court sessions. One of the victims, who met Levran when he was in high school, reconnected with him later in life after he began having kidney stone issues. He testified Levran had him strip to his underwear, watched him urinate and asked how big he got while erect. Without using gloves or asking for consent, he said Levran stuck his finger in his rectum and asked if he wanted to know where the male g-spot was.

He also did naked yoga sessions with Levran, and at the fifth session, during a post-yoga massage, Levran was focused on his genitals. The man said he told Levran no when he started touching his penis and set boundaries of no sexual contact. At the next session, however, the man said Levran put his penis in his mouth.

Jones said this was not a description of a sexual assault. He said the man going back for more yoga sessions — which he specified were not medical appointments — was him choosing to move forward with the sessions. Jones said he was a "consenting adult who was fully aware of what's going on."

Another man, who went to see Levran for a hip injury, testified about Levran performing oral sex on him, "relaxation massages" and Levran instructing him not to tell anyone, saying he had a wife and children. He had seen Levran in high school for sports physicals and nothing out of the ordinary happened, he testified. He said he remembered feeling confused, but he said he trusted Levran. The encounter became more uncomfortable, he said, as Levran began to stroke his penis before performing oral sex.

When a man went to see Levran in April 2022 because he and his partner were struggling to get pregnant, Levran requested a urine sample and held the cup while the man urinated. He grabbed the man's penis two or three times without the man's consent while demonstrating what to do to ensure he was emptying his bladder. He rubbed his penis and wanted to do a rectal exam, but the man refused.

Jones said the witness was upset Levran grabbed his penis without consent, but said it was a part of a medical discussion, not something that was done for sexual purposes.

When the judge questioned why Levran couldn't have just told the man what to do while he was fully dressed, Jones said: "I'm representing an eccentric gentleman. It may seem odd, but odd is not a crime."

Four of the victims were minors when they said Levran sexually assaulted them. They all played hockey and worked with Levran in that capacity. Two of them said Levran would shower and change with them on open skate nights.

One of the men testified that when he was 15 and doing a sports physical with Levran, he asked him to strip naked and do jumping jacks. He also had him bend over and touch his toes as Levran sat beside him. He cupped his genitals and was "more aggressive" than he was used to during an exam, he testified. His genitals hurt for days after the exam, which he said lasted for more than a minute.

None of this rose to the level of a sexual act, Jones said.

While he was a freshman at Farmington High School, one of the witnesses was working with Levran for a pulled groin muscle. He said while doing yoga with Levran, the doctor pushed down on his inner thighs to enhance his stretch and groped him for six to 10 seconds. The teen was struggling to get playing time and Levran told him to attend the open skates and yoga sessions and he would put in a good word for him.

"He was an adult; I was 14 at the time," the fifth witness said, tearing up. "I trusted him. ... He would always listen to me and talk to me."

"There simply is no crime here" Jones said. If it was sexual assault, the defense attorney asked, why would he have gone back for more yoga sessions? He said the teen "decided" he was a victim after he saw the case pop up on the news.

Another witness, who was 14 and 15 when he went to Levran for sports physicals, said Levran had him strip naked and do squats the first time. Both times Levran spent several minutes feeling around his genitals, he testified. Jones said there was "no crime here" because it was done for a medical purpose.

One witness, who was 17 at the time, said Levran groped him during a medical appointment. He said he felt "distraught and confused" after the exam. Jones said this witness also came forward after seeing the case on the news and said not having a similar experience to other physicals did not mean Levran's more thorough check was sexual assault.

Levran is also charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Bloomfield Hills connected to the alleged sexual assault of a female patient.

Levran worked with several youth hockey teams, including the Farmington United Hockey team, St. Mary's Preparatory High School in West Bloomfield Township and Novi High School. He also provided free medical care to high schoolers across Michigan and taught power yoga.

Levran holds medical licenses in Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa and Georgia. His Michigan license is temporarily suspended. In March, Levran voluntarily surrendered his Ohio license and signed an agreement to refrain from practicing medicine in Minnesota until the case is resolved. His Iowa license remains valid, and his Georgia license lapsed in August 2020.

[email protected]