Former Mount Vernon chiropractor sentenced for sexually touching patients

EVERETT, Wash. - A former chiropractor in western Washington convicted of sexually touching women under the guise of medical treatment has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

Kenneth Parker, 62, of Mount Vernon received the sentence Friday in Superior Court in Everett after being convicted of four counts of indecent liberties.

The Everett Herald reported that the Washington Department of Health suspended his license in 2019 after three women reported he inappropriately touched their breasts.

But Parker continued seeing patients, and last year he was charged with eight counts of felony sexual misconduct by a health care provider. Four of the counts were subsequently dropped.

Parker in court on Friday asked for forgiveness from his former patients and called the case a "misunderstanding."

Superior Court Judge Karen Moore issued a longer sentence than recommended under state guidelines.

"Frankly," Moore told Parker, "I have concerns that your idea of what is helping people is so skewed at this point that I would be derelict in my duties to allow you to not have further time in custody to reflect upon your actions."

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