Alabama Doctor Tried To Sex Traffic His Teenage Patient, Police Said

An Alabama doctor who police say attempted to sex traffic one of his minor patients has been arrested, Radar has learned.

According to the Blount County Sheriff's Office, Dr. Janaki Earla sexually assaulted a 17-year-old patient, sent her sexual texts and tried to pay her to meet at a hotel. Earla was a doctor in Trussville, Alabama.

“We got information last week that a doctor had been inappropriate with a patient who was under the age of 18,” Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said.

The 17-year-old girl's mother informed police of the alleged criminal behavior, saying that Earla used a stethoscope to inappropriately touch the girl's chest. According to police, the mother said Earla complimented the girl's looks and then put his phone number in her phone.

The mother told police that soon after Earla began sending sexual messages to the girl. “I commend these parents and this child for the relationship they had that she felt comfortable that she could say ‘hey mom this isn’t right. Is he supposed to be doing this,” Casey said.

Officers caught Earla in action by using the girl's phone and pretending to be her, according to police. Police say Earla invited the girl to have sex with him in exchange for money and to travel with him. “At that point, he set up a meeting in Oneonta at a hotel to engage in sexual contact in exchange for money,” Casey said.

Police then set up a sting operation where they set Earla up at a hotel, where he allegedly had alcohol, condoms and cash.

“It is scary,” Casey said. “We want to think when we take our child to the doctor that this is one of the people they can trust the most, other than their parents, to provide them good advice and assist them when they need help. We have to be careful about who we allow our children around and whether they are alone. We can never let our guard down as parents.”

Earla is charged with first-degree human trafficking of a minor. According to WBRC, the Blount County District Attorney's Office is investigating Earla for possible other crimes.

“One element of human trafficking is if you exchange something in consideration of sexual conduct or contact and the person is under the age of 19,” Casey said. “He traveled there in exchange of such contact with monetary consideration.”