A Poplar Buff pediatrician accused of sodomy or attempted sodomy on a boy under 14 years of age turned himself into Stoddard County authorities Monday and is being held without bond in Stoddard County jail.
Joseph P. Fernando, 65, had a warrant for his arrest on charges of “one count of statutory sodomy or attempted statutory sodomy, deviant sexual intercourse, with a person less than 14 years of age,’’ according to Dexter Police Det. Cory Mills.
The charges were filed after a male juvenile and his father visited Dexter Police Department on Christmas Day 2020, to report allegations against Fernando. The juvenile was interviewed at Great Circles Ozark Foothills Child Advocacy Center in Poplar Bluff.
“During the interview, the juvenile disclosed that over a period of time, at his residence in Dexter, Mo., he had been inappropriately touched in a sexual manner by his pediatrician,’’ according to a Dexter Police Department release.
Stoddard County Prosecutor Russ Oliver said the probable cause “has a security clearance on it...to protect the victim’s identity,’’ he said. “With the probable cause record being sealed there’s really nothing that I can divulge or speak about.’’
Oliver confirmed that Fernando turned himself in with an attorney but declined to name the attorney since he has not filed any court filings and as of yet is not the attorney of record. It is unclear where Fernando was practicing medicine at the time of his arrest, or if he was.
He was previously listed with an office on Katy Lane, which is now listed as permanently closed, and had been associated with Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center on some medical sites.
“Previously, Dr. Fernando was an independent member of the hospital’s medical staff,” said Dawn M. Marshall, director of marketing and community relations for PBRMC.
Marshall explained independent members are not employees of the hospital.