Austin Dentist Gets Seven Years In Prison For Sexually Assaulting Girls

AUSTIN, TX -- An elderly Austin dentist was sentenced to prison Thursday for assaulting a young patient -- brought to justice after living in Panama for nearly two decades in an unsuccessful bid to elude authorities.

Alexander Emil Ross, 67, was charged in 1998 with multiple counts: aggravated sexual assault of a child; indecency with a child by sexual contact; attempted indecency with a child; and practicing dentistry without a license.

He was sentenced to seven years of prison as a result of those charges. He faced up to life imprisonment.

After he was pushed into the courtroom in his wheelchair, Ross pleaded guilty to only one count of aggravated sexual assault, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

The ploy failed, and he also now must to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

His attorney, Mindy Montford, attributed the shorter plea-bargained sentence to a number of factors, the main one being the dentist’s advanced age. Ross is in deteriorating health, and has had two heart attacks while behind bars, the lawyer said.

“It was a compromise that he took responsibility for his actions,” Montford said.

Ross formerly lived in Brazoria County, where he was president of a company that owned dental care centers serving low-income patients in Austin, the Statesman reports. He practiced dentistry primarily in the south and southeast portions of the city.

Two girls, ages 9 and 12, told police Ross inappropriately touched them during their dental appointments, the newspaper reports. One girl said Ross paid her $4.55 to keep silent about the incident.

About a week before those incidents, Ross sexually assaulted another 13-year-old girl, according to court records. The girl told police Ross assaulted her in his car after giving her and her mother a ride home while the mother was at a convenience store.

Ross fled shortly after being formally charged. Federal authorities issued a warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution two months later.

A counselor read a statement from one of the girls in court: “You took a part of me and I will never know if I will ever get it back.”