WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Janae Cherry said she was surprised to learn the pediatric office that has been taking care of her 4-year-old son was abruptly no longer in business. She was even more stunned to find out he was accused of sexually assaulting two of his young patients.
Like most of the parents who have been going to Potomac Pediatrics inside the Potomac Center in Woodbridge, Cherry received a text message on Monday that said the practice was permanently closed.
In a statement on the website, staff said it shuttered the doors after 29 years "due to unforeseen circumstances."
On the same day, officials with the Prince William County Department charged the pediatrician, Dr. Leonard Touchette, with two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of object sexual penetration.
A police spokesperson said detectives conducted an investigation in November that found Touchette allegedly sexually assaulted a girl between 11 and 17 years old on more than one occasion between October 2014 and November 2020. Investigators also said a second female victim was sexually assaulted by Touchette more than once between 1992 and 1998 when she was between two and eight years old.
"I was very shocked," Cherry told WUSA9. "It makes me feel uneasy about how many could have been affected but haven't said anything."
Cherry said she never suspected behavior that would rise to the level of the allegations. However, she said the accusations are disturbing and make her think twice about who she books an appointment with next. Like the rest of the parents, she is trying to find a new doctor.
"I'm a little nervous picking out pediatricians now and I will do more research, even though I did my research on Dr. Touchette and didn't find anything," she said.
Touchette has been practicing in the commonwealth for 39 years, according to Virginia Department of Health records. He had no disciplinary actions, convictions or notices from the board against him.
For one parent, who wanted to remain anonymous, she told WUSA9 she always had a strange feeling in the 90s when her three children saw Touchette. To note, she stressed nothing happened to her kids.
"When I saw that he was arrested, it was a shock but not surprising because there was something there that I just couldn't leave my kids alone with him every time we were in the exam room," she said.
A bond for Touchette was set at $5,000.
When WUSA9 asked if police were looking for any additional victims, police said that "we will certainly investigate any allegations that are brought to our attention.”