Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell

by Jack Olsen

Book Overview

For twenty-five years, the trusted family doctor in a small Wyoming town had been raping and molesting the women and children who most relied on him. Mostly Mormons, the naive victims sometimes... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689119593
• ISBN13: 9780689119590
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Atheneum Books
• Length: 479 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Unbelievable

I have this book and could not believe how gullible parents/families could be. Get this book and you won't lay it down till the end.

True Crime Lovers will Salivate! Horrifying!

DOC is one of the most horrifying true stories of the abuse of power and trust that I have ever read! Dr. John Story chose to build a family practice in the small Wyoming town of Lovell, where there were no other doctors available and where half the population were fundamentalist members of the LDS or Mormon church. Known for his concern for his patients and strong morals rooted in the Baptist religion, Dr. Story was also known by many women as a doctor who ordered frequent pelvic exams that often lasted 30-45 minutes or longer. Preying upon the vulnerability of a population of women that possessed little sexual knowledge or experience, Dr. Story began raping his female patients. He never allowed a nurse or another third party to be present in the examining room during these pelvic exams, most of which were performed on Mormon women or women who used his clinic for a single visit while passing through town. In this way, he assurred himself years of unrestricted access to female patients who would be unilikely to understand what was happening or too afraid to report the sexual assault. When two brave sisters united in an effort to alert the Wyoming Board of Medical Examiners to this abuse of position and power, many more women began to come forward. By the time police investigators and the district attorney were ready to bring Dr. Story to trial, there were 50 confirmed victims of sexual abuse or sexual assault, and another 50 cases involving women who were willing to speak of their experiences but were unwilling to be involved in any legal proceedings. If this sounds almost unbelievable, consider that these were ONLY the women who came forward! The Wyoming Board of Medical Examiners denied ever receiving complaints about Dr. Story prior to those filed in 1983. However, one women produced a copy of the letter she mailed to the board in 1972. Another woman stated that she notified the board of the sexual abuse of her daughter well before 1983. In addition, the Board of Medical Examiners also refused to review this case until there were at least 5 separate complaintants. (Apparently, one rape victim is permissable, but 5 rape victims... well, that could be a problem!) Although his license was revoked, Dr. Story was allowed to continue to practice during the appeals process and continued to practice until he was arrested and convicted on sexual abuse and sexual assault charges in a court of law. Never at a loss for words, Dr. Story continued to proclaim his innocence from prison and those who supported him continued to believe that such a "good and moral man" was incapable of these atrocious crimes. It is interesting that some of the defense theories presented were outrageous and would have required absolute idiocy to accept. If Dr. Story were the unfortunate victim of a "Mormon Conspiracy," would not every non-Mormon professional also have been targeted? No one was targeted for punishment other than Dr. John Story. The defense

Doc

A fascinating account of a sociopath, a man in a position of utmost trust. He used that trust to gain access to more and more victims over more than two decades. Will we ever look at doctors the same way?

A doctor's betrayal.

In the early 1980's in Lovell, WY, women came forward with stories of having been raped or taken advantage of by the town's doctor. John Story, was highly respected within the community not only as a doctor, but as an elder in his church. The women he targeted were young, vulnerable, or considered minority citizens who wouldn't say anything or wouldn't be believed. Story was able to "dilate" women for 25 years before enough of them finally got the courage to speak out and push for his license to be revoked. Thanks to the sheriff and the DA, the women were taken seriously and charges were brought against Story. During the investigation, it was discovered that over the years a handful of women had reported that Story had molested them, but were told to go home and be quiet about it, or just weren't believed. Delving further into Story's background, it appeared that he molested over 100 women during his practice. The ensuing trial caused such division in the town, that it never recovered to its former close knit community. Jack Olsen did a wonderful job in researching the background of everyone involved, as well as the charges and trial of John Story.

The Ruination of a Small Town

I have been a fan of Jack Olsen for years, starting way back when he wrote brilliant pieces for "Sports Illustrated." He has the gift of taking non-fiction and bringing it to life on the printed page. I am convinced he could write about an old grocery list and make it interesting.Lovell, WY, a small insular, highly religious farm community was ripped apart when one of the leading citizens, Dr. John Story, was accused of sexual harassment and rape going back twenty years. He was a general practitioner with OB/GYN a large part of his practice. By the time he came to trial, more than 100 former patients admitted they felt they had been mistreated or raped under the guise of a pelvic examination.My first thought was how could this have been so widespread and gone on for so long without anyone knowing, complaining, or accusing? The answer is the nature of Lovell itself. The majority of the citizenry belonged to the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) or to a very strict fundamentalist church of which Dr. Story was a founding member. Particularly with the LDS women, there is a strong bias in favor of male superiority. They are taught that men (and only men) can become priests of their church and give absolution; rarely is male authority questioned. Along with this background is an incredible innocence and ignorance about sexual functions. It wasn't until a leading church member started asking hard questions after her more enlightened daughters complained to her, that the scope of this crime emerged. The women thought two to three hour examinations were normal and all had taken for granted these examinations took place without the presence of a nurse.It made very painful reading to see how difficult it was for these women to be taken seriously. The Medical Registry of Wyoming was hostile toward their efforts, but finally gave them a hearing. The leaders of the church, who did not want the church to formally be involved in the issue, did not support them. It took the dedication and incredible hard work of a local sheriff and District Attorney for the county to finally bring Dr. Story to trial. The town split in two along religious lines. The fundamentalist group said it was a "Mormon conspiracy." People who had been friends and neighbors for years were now bitter enemies.Mr. Olsen has created a page-turner with his balanced narrative that includes many direct interviews with the leading participants. I felt pity for Dr. Story's devoted wife and for many of his well-meaning followers and patients. However, what stands out most in my mind is the bravery and endurance shown by his victims and their willingness to stand by their beliefs and principles.

Convicted felon, John Story, released on parole--April 2001

Another dangerous sexual predator is free, practically in my own community. I don't live in Lovell, but I live in the Big Horn Basin. As a kid when this happened, I never really had a grasp of the depth of John Story's deviant acts until I read this book! This is not about the Mormon church versus the rest of the world as some people in Lovell still argue to anyone who will listen to this day; no, this is about a man who took advantage of his power and position as a trusted family doctor as an opportunity to rape women. This is about woman who, for whatever reasons, were conditioned as children to serve their fathers and to respect males. Young newlywed women who automatically knew to obey their husbands and believed they were nothing without their men. Women who never questioned a male's right to absolute authority. Sadly, these are also woman who never knew the extent of their own ignorance until it was too late. The events were shocking in the 1980's when they ripped apart Lovell to the point that the wound still has not healed 20 years later. But it was the release on parole of a monster, of the so-called "doctor," that prompted me to finally read this book. I now know and work with the attorneys in this book which made reading it all that much more exciting--the Honorable Gary Hartman, Scott Kath, the late Honorable John Dixon, Charles Kepler, and William Simpson and I know of Loretta Kepler, Kathy Karpan, and Terry Tharp. The author took some liberties with a few things; for example, Mr. Kepler is not a burly man nor is he a large man, Ms. Kepler is a charming and beautiful woman despite the plain-jane description to the contrary, Judge Hartman did not have a pistol under his robe when the jury verdict was delivered, and, really, Scott Kath is a much more interesting character than Olsen makes him out to be in the book. Furthermore, some of the nasty and degrading descriptions of town people were gross overstatements whereas some of the nicer descriptions were clever understatements of the true problems in Lovell--domestic abuse, alcohol, and to this day men with multiple "wives" and dozens of children. However, having said that, those did not detract from this very well written book.As a closing note for those who have read this, remember the exam table? Last year John Story's wife, Marilyn, picked up the "table" from the evidence room at the Big Horn County Courthouse. The table was a key factor in facilitating John Story's rape of literally hundreds of women during so called pelvic examinations. However, John Story no longer has a medical license nor can he ever hold a medical license again as a convicted felon. What does this man, who will surely be classified as a high risk registered sex offender, need with a fancy examination table when he does not have a medical license? Does he think he can sell it on eBay? Or is he starting a home based business?I guess, this may only be the first story in a series of events yet to