Nov. 26--While a public indecency charge against a renowned Lincolnshire neurologist remains pending in court, charges against other men allegedly involved in heated confrontations outside the doctor's home have been resolved.
Dr. Jeffrey Frank remains temporarily barred from practicing medicine and teaching at the University of Chicago as he faces allegations that he masturbated naked in front of a window in view of children at a Deerfield hotel in May. It was the latest of several arrests on similar charges for Frank, 53, who pleaded guilty in 2007 after being accused of masturbating while nude in front of teenage girls at a Wilmette park.
After Frank's arrest drew widespread attention, three men were charged in connection with disturbances near his home in the wealthy north suburb. Charges against Morris Kharasch, of Highland Park, and Jeffrey Hooper, of Lake Forest, were dropped in September. Hooper was charged with disorderly conduct after he allegedly drove up to Frank's home in late May and shouted "predator," authorities said. Kharasch, who was at a gathering at the home, was accused of grabbing Hooper's face and twisting his glasses, according to authorities. Kharasch was charged with battery.
Both men accepted the cases being dismissed, their defense lawyers said. Kharasch is a relative of Frank's, said his lawyer, Robert Gevirtz.
Scott Arne, one of Frank's neighbors, was charged with disorderly conduct, according to court records. A few days after the incident involving the other men, Arne had a verbal spat with Frank's wife, police said, and then shouted at the neurologist's daughter that her father should kill himself.
Arne pleaded guilty in July but was given court supervision, allowing him to avoid having a conviction on his record if he met certain conditions, court records show.
Frank's license to practice medicine remains temporarily suspended pending proceedings that could result in its revocation, said a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. After he received court supervision in the Wilmette case in 2007, Frank was put on probation by the agency and allowed to keep practicing medicine on several conditions, including that he continue seeing a psychologist and report any arrests on similar charges, according to state records.
He is on leave from all duties at the University of Chicago, a university spokesman said.
Frank's next scheduled court date is Dec. 10 in Skokie, authorities said.
dhinkel@tribpub.com
