Texas Lawmakers Honor Registered Sex Offender
CBS 11's Robert Riggs Reporting
(CBS) Dr. Nilon Tallant beamed with pride as the Texas House of Representatives honored him as their Doctor of the Day last January. The lawmakers who stood to applaud Dr. Tallant have now been left in red-faced embarrassment to learn from a CBS 11 investigation that Dr. Tallant is a registered sex offender. The case underscores problems with background information that physicians self-report under an honor system to the Texas Medical Board.
In a legislative session marked by passage of the death penalty for the worst of sex offenders and tougher prison sentences for others, the Weatherford family physician would appear to be the most unlikely candidate to serve as Doctor of the Day.
Video of House proceedings on January 12th, obtained by CBS 11 under the Public Information Act, indicate that Representative Phil King of Weatherford was supposed to introduce Dr. Tallant, who was a constituent. Rep. King was absent from the floor and the duty fell to East Texas Representative Leo Berman. Rep. Berman happened to be standing near the podium when Speaker Tom Craddick called for the Doctor of the Day introduction.
Rep. Berman was unaware that Dr. Tallant was listed on the DPS Sex Offender Registry when he presented the doctor at the front podium of the House Chamber. The Republican lawmaker from Tyler had no idea who he had introduced until CBS 11 brought it to his attention, “I don't like the idea that I introduced a sex offender. He should have told whoever selected him to be the Doctor of the Day that he is a registered sex offender and not try to appear before the Texas House of Representatives and make himself look legitimate before the entire state.”
Dr. Tallant is listed on the sex offender registry posted on the website of the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was indicted on 19 counts of sexual performance by a child in 1996, according to Hays County court records.
The victim was a 17-year-old female patient. Dr. Tallant was a 64-year-old divorcee at the time and ran a family practice in San Marcos. He pleaded guilty to a second degree felony and was sentenced to ten years on probation.
The Texas Medical Board revoked Dr. Tallant’s license but reinstated it four years later over objections from its staff. After a closed door session, the Board cited the need for additional occupational physicians in San Marcos as one of its reasons for returning Dr. Tallant’s medical privileges.
Lt. Dennis Gutierrerez of the Hays County Sheriff's Department investigated the crime and says he is shocked that Texas lawmakers would honor someone like Dr. Tallant because evidence in the case showed extremely exploitative and abusive behavior, “I can’t believe that the Medical Board let him (Dr. Tallant) practice again. Why didn’t they talk to us before making that decision?”
Dr. Tallant was among approximately ninety doctors who volunteered for the Physician of the Day program run by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians (TAPF) during the last session. According to the Academy, the physicians treat patients in the Capitol Building and on the Capitol grounds including visitors, members of the legislature, their families, and staff. Tom Banning of the TAPF says it screens candidates for “Doctor of the Day” on the Texas Medical Board’s website. CBS 11’s investigation found that Dr. Tallant’s online physician profile showed his criminal history as “none,” despite the fact that he is listed on the DPS Sex Offender website.
Medical Board records obtained by CBS 11 under the Public Information Act indicate that Dr. Tallant did not disclose his criminal record to the Board for the past three years. In a written statement, Banning says the Academy regrets that Dr. Tallant served as Physician of the Day and blames the Legislature for holes in information because it “has historically starved down the Medical Board by diverting physician licensure fees to state general revenue. The TAFP supports using physician licensure for the purpose for which they are collected, to fully fund the Texas Medical Board so that it can carry out its mandate to protect the public safety.”
CBS 11’s investigation also found that Dr. Tallant was honored on a previous occasion during the third called session of the Legislature on April 21, 2006. Rep. Phil King of Weatherford gave Dr. Tallant a glowing introduction, “It's my pleasure today to introduce Dr. Tallant …They are fine friends and great citizens from Parker County…I will also tell you that he is a retired flight surgeon with the United States Air Force who served his country well and is going to serve us today. ” Representative King declined to do an on camera interview with CBS 11 News.
Representative Jerry Madden of Plano told CBS 11 that he received a complaint about Dr. Tallant’s criminal record from the Council on Sex Offender Treatment shortly after the 2006 Doctor of the Day appearance. Rep. Madden says he informed House officials. But the Texas Academy of Family Physicians says they were never told about Dr. Tallant’s sex offender record and would not have sponsored him again in 2007 if they had been warned.
Dr. Tallant lists his place of practice on the Medical Board website as a sprawling two story home on a scenic rural hilltop in Parker County located west of Fort Worth. CBS 11 attempted to speak with Dr. Tallant there as he drove into his gated driveway. He declined and afterwards his attorney left a telephone message instructing CBS 11 not to try to interview the doctor.
Alex Winslow of Texas Watch describes the introductions of Dr. Tallant as Doctor of the Day as an outrageous example of the unreliability of information on the Texas Medical Board’s website, “Patient safety is at risk because the Texas Medical Board Website is inadequate. Patients need as much information as possible so that they know that the doctors that they are visiting, that are treating them are top notch.”
Texas Watch is monitoring a flood of new applications from doctors seeking to practice here in the wake the Texas Legislature imposing limits on medical malpractice lawsuits. Winslow warns, “We are running the risk that Texas is becoming a safe haven for bad doctors. If the Medical Board needs the resources to protect patients and make sure the doctors are free of criminal convictions of all things, then they need to go to the Legislature and ask for that money.”
This is the second instance that CBS 11 has uncovered of a doctor not reporting his criminal record to the Medical Board. An earlier investigation found that Dr. Jack Thomas, an orthopedic surgeon in North Texas, did not report his criminal history for the past three years as required by law. Dr. Thomas’ attorney characterized the reporting omission as an “administrative oversight”.
Dr. Thomas was convicted of Medicare and Medicaid fraud in 1991 and served eight months in the Texas Prison system. He was also sentenced to 10 years probation for violation of the controlled substances act. According to disciplinary records at the Medical Board and court testimony, Dr. Thomas admitted that he diverted prescription painkillers including dilaudid, a morphine substitute, for his own abuse.
Rep. Leo Berman who introduced Dr. Tallant as the House Doctor of the
Day says it’s outrageous that the Medical Board is not doing complete
criminal background checks to cross reference what doctor’s voluntarily
report to their web profiles. Rep. Berman is determined to prevent a
convicted felon from ever receiving Legislative recognition in the
future, “It's horrendous and I want to make sure that this never
happens again. I'm sure now we will have a close check on not only who
comes in as the doctor of day but also as our chaplain of the day. “
Community Watch comments:
unbelievable, just unbelievable...
