A doctor at a Smyth County hospital was arrested on Tuesday on charges related to an alleged sexual relationship with an underage coworker.
Michael Kevin Patrick, 68, of Sugar Grove, faces federal charges specific to text messages containing explicit sexual content.
According to court documents, the teen victim began working at Smyth County Community Hospital in 2023 when she was 16 years old. Shortly after starting her job, the victim told Patrick she was 17 years old, in high school, and interested in the medical field.
In 2024, the victim and Patrick started eating lunch together and communicating regularly via text messages and phone calls.
Eventually, Patrick and the victim engaged in sexual conversations with one another and exchanged nude photos of themselves via text message.
Patrick and the victim exchanged more than 19,000 text messages with one another, which he deleted after the relationship was discovered.
It’s also alleged that Patrick started having a physical relationship with the victim at his home and at work.