Iowa woman shocked to learn man she says was convicted of sexual abuse decades ago is now a physician

By Kayla James

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    IOWA (KCCI) — Month after month and plea after plea, an Eastern Iowa woman continuously tells her story to the Iowa Board of Medicine.

“I am the 13-year-old girl who was sexually abused by a now licensed physician,” said Sherri Moler, during the public comment section at an Iowa Board of Medicine meeting on March 25.

More than 40 years later and Moler still struggles with what she says happened in the summer of 1975.

A young gymnast then, Moler recalls being at the University of Iowa for a gymnastics camp. She remembers heading into the Field House to get checked out for back pain.

Thirty-four minutes later, Moler says she ran away from an exam room.

“I was sexually assaulted by an individual who is still a practicing physician in the State of Iowa,” Moler said in front of board members at the Iowa Board of Medicine meeting on Sept. 10, 2021.

Moler says she reported the man and in February of 1976, returned for his trial.

“I had to stand in front of 12 strangers and tell a horrific part of my life,” Moler said in an interview with KCCI in April. “I had to look at him.”

In a Daily Iowan article printed in 1976, it is stated that Lynn Lindaman was convicted of lascivious acts with a person under the age of 14.

KCCI reached out to Lindaman and his attorney, who told us they have no comment.

Moler says the trial was the last she heard of him, believing he went to jail.

“I couldn’t imagine how — if you were found guilty — that wasn’t the outcome,” Moler said.

However, as Moler would soon find out there was another outcome.

In 2020, Moler says she was visiting Des Moines when an ad showed up on her phone.

“There was no doubt in my mind. I had stared at that face for 34 minutes,” Moler said.

Moler was shocked to find the man she says was convicted of sexually abusing her while he was a graduate student was allowed to become a doctor.

It’s that revelation that leads Moler to repeatedly speak in front of the Board since 2020.

“I have a copy of his application for license in Michigan and in Iowa,” Moler said during her April interview with KCCI.

Moler started collecting documents in 2020, including what she says are the court records from the case.

She says she learned through that documentation that Lindaman was convicted and then offered a deferred judgment.

“I have never heard of a deferred sentence,” Moler said.

KCCI reached out to learn what exactly a deferred sentence is.

“In the criminal justice system, a deferred judgement is like a second chance,” said Steve Foritano, a faculty member at Drake Law School and a former prosecutor in Polk County.

Foritano says, in general, a judge will put the guilty ruling on pause so there’s no conviction, place the defendant on probation, and if completed:

“The judgment will never be entered,” Foritano said. “The case will be dismissed without any type of conviction.”

Foritano says generally, defendants with no or a short prior criminal history qualify for deferred judgment as long as the crime does, too.

“If it’s a forcible felony, for instance, that’s not an option,” Foritano said.

Foritano says Lascivious Acts with a Minor is not a forcible felony, referencing an Iowa Supreme Court case in 1992: Stave v. Graves.

“He shouldn’t be around patients,” Moler said. “He shouldn’t be around young children.”

Moler continues to speak in front of the Iowa Board of Medicine, as well as send letter after letter to places associated with Lindaman.

KCCI reached out to several organizations.

One nonprofit organization, the U.S. Center for Safesport, took action. The nonprofit added Lindaman to its disciplinary database.

SafeSport declined to comment beyond that.

As for Moler, she says she’s not done yet.

“I need to know that by going to court as a 14-year-old girl that I did the right thing,” Moler said.

KCCI also tried repeatedly to obtain the court documents, even driving to the Johnson County Courthouse to physically get the court records. However, KCCI was told there was nothing there under public records.

When KCCI asked why those documents could not be shared, a spokesperson with the Iowa Judicial Branch told KCCI that a number of cases are not available for public record. While the spokesperson could not specifically touch on the case referenced, KCCI did note deferred judgment was one of the types of cases listed.

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