The Associated Press State & Local Wire

December 24, 1999, Friday, AM cycle

Board suspends psychiatrist’s license in unprofessional conduct case

SECTION: State and Regional

LENGTH: 192 words

DATELINE: YAKIMA, Wash.

A Yakima psychiatrist accused of having improper relationships with two patients has been charged with unprofessional conduct by a state medical board, which also has suspended his license while the case is pending.
Leslie Sziebert could not be reached for comment Friday. There is no telephone listing for him in Yakima, and his private practice with Lake Aspen Professional Group ended in August.
The state Quality Medical Assurance Commission placed Sziebert on suspension Tuesday and gave him 20 days to respond to the unprofessional conduct charges.
If he and the commission are unable to reach agreement, a hearing would be scheduled.
Sziebert is accused of having a sexual relationship, beginning last January, with a patient he treated for “severe emotional problems” from August 1996 to last August, according to state Department of Health records. She attempted suicide last August, records show.
He also is accused of kissing another patient, telling her he loved her and offering her gifts, according to department records. Sziebert had been treating the patient since 1990, but records did not indicate when he stopped.