State board takes action against Oakdale doctor accused of sex abuse, negligence

Apr. 4—Seven years ago, police investigated disturbing sex and drug allegations against an Oakdale doctor, who's been free to continue seeing patients as additional investigations took place.

Now, the Medical Board of California has taken disciplinary action against Dr. Mark Daniel Cook, who is accused of molesting his stepdaughter and prescribing dangerous combinations of drugs to the girl and her mother. It's a case the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute.

A state board order March 25 revokes Cook's medical license, but the revocation is stayed — meaning he can keep operating his practice — as long as he complies with the terms of a 10-year probation agreement. The disciplinary order takes affect April 24 and Cook is set to begin serving a 60-day suspension in May.

The terms of his probation include having a chaperone present while examining or treating female patients. Cook must disclose his probation status to patients, the restrictions imposed by state board on his practice and give patients instructions on how to find more information about the doctor's probation.

Cook is barred from prescribing most controlled substances until he completes a prescribing practices course. And he is also expected to complete an ethics course and other education as terms of probation and undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

The state Medical Board will monitor his progress with meeting the terms of probation.

The state order charges that the stepdaughter was sexually exploited by Cook during a two-year marriage to the girl's mother from 2015 to 2017. The girl was 7 to 9 years old during that time.

Cook also was accused of gross negligence and repeated negligent acts in prescribing drugs to his then-wife and stepdaughter without proper diagnoses and monitoring. The state board investigation also concluded that Cook made dishonest statements to investigators that were contradicted by other medical professionals.

A person who answered the phone at Cook's office Wednesday in Oakdale said the doctor has no comment. Cook has worked at Oakdale Family Medicine on West H Street. The doctor's Bay Area attorney also had no comment.

Oakdale police investigated Cook for the alleged sexual abuse of his stepdaughter in 2017. An arrest affidavit for Cook on a charge of lewd acts with a minor was sent to the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office, which didn't prosecute the case over concerns about proving the charges.

"No crime could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury based upon the information we received," then-DA spokesman John Goold said in a 2020 Modesto Bee article. "Consequently, no charges were filed."

Following investigations by the Medical Board into sexual abuse and negligent prescribing of medication, Cook signed a document accepting the results of the investigations and the recommended disciplinary action. He was not charged with criminal violations.

The Medical Board investigation found that Cook prescribed a mixture of opiates and sedatives for his ex-wife without a documented medical diagnosis. According to a Medical Board accusation, the combination of opiates and benzodiazepine sedatives raised the risks of overdose, respiratory depression and death.

Negligent in managing drugs for stepdaughter

Cook's stepdaughter had seen a psychiatrist for psychological issues and was referred to therapists in Modesto. But the girl never saw any of those therapists, the Medical Board accusation said. Instead, Cook prescribed Seroquel—an antipsychotic medication used to treat conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder—for his stepdaughter and increased the dose to four times the recommended amount. Management of the psychotropic drugs was beyond the scope of a primary care physician such as Cook.

According to the Medical Board accusation, Cook also prescribed lithium for the 8-year-old girl even though she didn't have a diagnosis for bipolar disorder from specialists.

Another board accusation focused on a tumultuous relationship and medications that Cook prescribed for another woman, identified as either a wife or cohabitant. An investigation concluded that Cook was grossly negligent in prescribing medications for the woman.

The allegations included a California Highway Patrol traffic stop on U.S. Highway 395 near Bishop in November 2020, after which Cook and the woman were both arrested on suspicion of cohabitant abuse.

The Medical Board order expects Cook to pay $200,000 in reimbursements for investigation costs and legal reviews.

This story was originally published April 4, 2024, 12:58 PM.

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