More former youth hockey players testify in hockey doc criminal sexual conduct case

Farmington Hills — More men testified Wednesday on reported inappropriate behavior by Metro Detroit doctor Zvi Levran, echoing earlier witnesses' testimonies that they thought they were receiving medically necessary treatment from someone they trusted or that they were too shocked to stop it.

During a two-day preliminary exam, 10 former athletes testified, including some on Wednesday who recalled incidents that happened when they were minors playing on hockey teams, including one who was 14 at the time.

Hockey lends itself to frequent injuries and players don't want to have to sit out for long, the fifth witness of the day testified. His freshman year, at age 14, he said he was struggling to get playing time and Levran would tell him to attend the open skates and yoga sessions, and Levran would put in a good word to the coach for him.

At one of the yoga sessions in 2019, the fifth witness said Levran was stretching him out and placed his hand on his genitals for 6 to 10 seconds.

"He was an adult, I was 14 at the time," the fifth witness said, tearing up. "I trusted him ... he would always listen to me and talk to me."

Two more witnesses who testified after him also were minors at the time of the reported incidents. The sixth witness said Levran instructed him to take off his clothes and do jumping jacks, while the seventh, who saw Levran when he was 16 and 17 for sports physicals in Levran's home office, said the doctor focused intently on inspecting his genitals.

Levran, 66, has more than two decades of involvement with various youth hockey teams; most of the men who testified since Tuesday had initial contact with him due to youth hockey teams.

The News is not naming the athletes due to an order by Judge James Brady not to identify them.

Nearly all of those who testified with the youth hockey connection said they trusted Levran as a physician and a person. Several who testified said they believed at the time that what the doctor was doing was medically necessary or were too shocked to immediately stop him.

The first new witness to testify on Wednesday said Levran was known in the hockey community as "the guy you saw” for medical treatment.

He said Levran, a urologist, performed urological surgery on him when he was about 12 years old.

Later, in his late 20s, the first witness, who is now living out of state, said Levran contacted him, saying he was at a conference and would like to have dinner. At the dinner, the witness said Levran asked to examine the witness’ genitals and the two went to the parking garage and Levran performed an exam in a car.

The first witness said "Doc" would do exams often and would tell patients "you're beautiful," referring to their genitals while performing the exams.

“I thought it was weird. ... I like Doc, I trusted him,” the first witness said.

In 2020, at age 30, the first witness said he was in town and reached out to Levran for a yoga session and Levran invited him to his home.

The witness said Levran began to grab and fondle his genitals during the session, without consent. He testified he didn’t resist because he was in shock, saying he felt “stuck” and he had waited too long during the interaction to say something.

A few days later, the first witness testified he began to have a difficult time reconciling with what had happened, ultimately seeking the help of a counselor.

“It was just a thing that freaked me out, thinking I might’ve been groomed since I was a kid. … It really messed me up," the first witness said.

Two witnesses testified that Levran had performed oral sex on them without consent.

Sexual conduct between doctors and patients is "unethical and unacceptable," testified expert witness Dr. Ganesh Palapattu, University of Michigan urology department chair, on Tuesday.

Palapattu said he reviewed police reports from the investigation of Levran and found a few things that might violate the American Medical Association's code of ethics.

Levran's defense attorney, Jonathan Jones, questioned Palapattu about his ability to make determinations of ethical violations based off of police reports. Palapattu didn't talk to witnesses and didn't witness the reported incidents.

More:Metro Detroit doctor facing new sex assault charges once accused of medical negligence

The third witness Wednesday testified he first met Levran when he was a senior in high school in 2008 at one of the open skates the doctor hosted for hockey players and others. Seven years later, when he and his wife were having difficulty conceiving, he contacted Levran.

He said when he went to the doctor’s home office in Farmington Hills, nothing out of the ordinary happened during the brief appointment.

In April of 2022, he testified he was facing difficulty again conceiving with his wife and set up another appointment in the doctor’s home office. This time, he said Levran followed him into the bathroom to perform a urine test.

Similar to another witness' testimony on Tuesday, the witness said Levran, without warning, permission or gloves grabbed him while he urinated.

In June, Levran performed a surgery on the third witness' testicles and at a July follow-up appointment at his home office, asked him to strip naked and perform yoga poses to test the strength of the incision. He said he complied with the doctor’s directions and did the poses until he felt the doctor’s genitals touch his arm. The appointment ended shortly after that.

“I felt incredibly uncomfortable, but at the same time I didn’t feel he would try anything fishy, being a bigger imposing man,” the third witness said.

Levran offered his home office for free to hockey teams for which he was the team doctor, a fourth witness said.

The witness said Levran gave him a sports physical at age 17 in his home office in 2018, while his father was present. Several witnesses testified that the portion of Levran's basement dedicated to the home office wasn't clearly partitioned off. The witness' father attended the appointment when his parents were skeptical of Levran and his home office and because they had not met him before.

Levran positioned himself between the witness and his father, who moved about 20 feet away in the basement to give his son privacy, the witness testified. Levran proceeded to hold his penis and tell him how nice it was, among other comments.

Levran is being held in the Oakland County Jail. Clad in a gray jumpsuit, he was present during the two-day preliminary hearing with his wife seated behind him.

Levran is facing some 30 counts of criminal sexual conduct between two courts. Farmington Hills police ask anyone who has information about possible illegal activities by the doctor, or if anyone has a personal story of abuse, to call the department at (248) 871-2610.

The preliminary examination continues May 10.

anichols@detroitnews.com