A 69-year-old emergency medicine chair who has led a university medical department in El Paso for nearly a decade was arrested in late September on a charge of indecent assault, accused of groping a patient while she drifted in and out of consciousness after a seizure. Edward Michelson posted a $100,000 bond and was released from custody the same day, September 30, after being booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility.
According to court documents cited by KTSM 9 News, El Paso County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to University Medical Center on August 28 to respond to a sexual assault report. Per the arrest affidavit, a patient who had suffered an epileptic episode was taken to UMC and, while slipping in and out of consciousness, noticed an unknown white male in her room. The affidavit identifies that man as Michelson, who allegedly lifted the patient's bed sheets and touched her.
The patient told investigators she asked him, “Why are you doing this to me? This has nothing to do with epilepsy,” according to the affidavit detailed by the station. She also told authorities Michelson was not wearing gloves, and said she began to cry during the encounter. Michelson was booked on a charge described in jail records as indecent assault, health or mental provider.
A Prominent Figure in El Paso Medicine
Michelson is far from an obscure figure in the region's healthcare system. He has served as department chair for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, a role he assumed in April 2016 when he joined the faculty at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine as a professor, according to Justia Law. He has also worked as a contracted medical provider at UMC, though he is not a UMC employee, per the station's report.
Michelson's academic record spans decades. He earned a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from MIT, received his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and completed a combined residency in internal and emergency medicine at Northwestern University, according to BrainScope. His training included emergency and internal medicine.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Michelson was a prominent public face of El Paso's emergency response. In November 2020, Michelson discussed bamlanivimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment; a patient had been transferred to the convention center, then a temporary field hospital, for treatment, according to The Texas Tribune.
Hospital and University Response
University Medical Center suspended Michelson from the hospital the day the arrest became public, saying patient safety and wellbeing are its highest priority and that allegations against its healthcare providers are taken seriously, the station's report notes. The hospital said it is cooperating with outside agencies conducting the investigation but had no further comment on the ongoing matter.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso confirmed it is aware of the charge against Michelson and has suspended him from his university duties, per the same account. The university said it would not comment further on what it called an ongoing personnel and legal matter. The investigation into the allegations remains ongoing, and KTSM 9 News described the story as developing.
UMC's role in the region adds weight to the case. The hospital operates the Scherr Legate Level I Trauma Center, the only Level I trauma facility within a 270-mile radius spanning West Texas and southern New Mexico, according to UMC Cares.
What the Charge Could Mean Legally
Under Texas Penal Code § 22.012, enacted in 2019 and enhanced by state lawmakers in 2023, indecent assault is generally a Class A misdemeanor — but it is elevated to a state jail felony when committed by a licensed healthcare provider against a patient during treatment that falls outside accepted medical standards, according to L&L Law Group. A state jail felony conviction in Texas carries penalties ranging from 180 days to two years in a state jail facility and a fine of up to $10,000, per M|C Criminal Law.
Notably, a conviction under this statute does not currently trigger mandatory state sex-offender registration under Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, unlike convictions under the state's sexual assault statutes, according to Saputo Toufexis. The distinction means that even a felony conviction in Michelson's case would not automatically place him on the state's sex-offender registry.
Whether the Texas Medical Board will pursue a separate disciplinary review of Michelson's license, or whether additional patients come forward, remains unknown as the criminal investigation continues.
