SPOKANE — A Spokane-area doctor accused of drugging and raping a 13-year old boy has been arrested for a second time this week after investigators say they found evidence that he spent time alone with other minors.
The new child pornography case against Dr. Craig Morgenstern stems from videos found in a desktop computer that detectives recovered from his home, The Spokesman-Review reported Friday.
Morgenstern, an emergency room doctor at the Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center, was arrested in the new case Wednesday, a day after being released on bond in the case involving the 13-year-old.
The alleged rape of that boy originally brought deputies to Morgenstern’s home last Saturday.
Authorities said a video created in Hayden, Idaho, at Triple Play Family Fun Park showed Morgenstern, 45, performing sex acts on the boy.
Videos found on a computer at his home also showed Morgenstern and other boys, said Stevens County deputy prosecuting attorney Lech Radzimski.
Since the case became public, 10 families have contacted investigators with concerns about Morgenstern’s relationship with their children, he said.
Although sheriff’s officials alleged Morgenstern tried to destroy evidence after deputies were first at his home, Stevens County Superior Court Judge Patrick Monasmith declined a prosecutor’s request to set bond at $1 million.
After Morgenstern was arrested Sunday on the child rape charge, his bond was set at $100,000. He was released Tuesday after posting bond.
During a court appearance Thursday, Radzimski noted Morgenstern makes $200,000 a year and recently paid cash for a sports car. “He has a large pool of assets he has access to should he decide to run,” Radzimski said.
But Christian Phelps, Morgenstern’s attorney, said there wasn’t enough new information since Morgenstern’s first arrest to warrant a significantly higher bond.
“Most of what counsel has said was contained in the original affidavit,” Phelps said. “They expected to find child porn.”
Monasmith said circumstances have changed since Monday’s arrest, including Morgenstern’s suspension from his job at the Spokane VA hospital, but he couldn’t order the $1 million bond.
“I cannot justify imposing bond as we would a homicide suspect,” he said.
Monasmith set Morgenstern’s bond at $250,000 on the child pornography charge and ordered that he be on electronic home monitoring if released.
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