CHEROKEE COUNTY, Texas — A suspended East Texas doctor was sentenced to 33 years in prison for continuous sexual abuse of a child over a seven-year period.
Karl Frederic Kauffman pleaded guilty to continuous sexual abuse of a child charges on Tuesday in the 369th District Court in Cherokee County. He was then sentenced to 33 years in prison, which will be served day for day, according to the Cherokee County District Clerk's Office.
Kauffman, who served as an ER physician at several area hospitals, was arrested on March 21, 2022 by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office for continuous sexual abuse of a young child.
On March 30, 2022, the Texas Medical Board disciplinary panel temporarily suspended his Texas medical license after "determining his continuation in the practice of medicine poses a continuing threat to public welfare." The suspension remains in effect until the board takes further action.
The TMB notice states the victim was under 14 years old at the time of the abuse, which began at least from 2015 to February 2022. The victim reported the abuse in early March 2022.
He was working at Nacogdoches Medical Center as an emergency department physician until his arrest, according to order of suspension.