Donald Cline had to be in jail for inseminating more than 50 women without their consent. However, his sentence time was much less than all the crimes he committed.
Jacoba Ballard was always aware that she was created through sperm donation. But she didn’t expect to uncover a seemingly infinite list of half-siblings when she chose to take a DNA test to understand more about her biological heritage.
Ballard began to put together the unsettling reality after months of study and talks with her numerous 23andMe matches: Donald Cline, a guy recognized as one of Indiana’s most prominent reproductive doctors, had inseminated scores of women with his sperm without their consent or knowledge.
Is Donald Cline In Jail Now?
No, it is sad to say that Donland Cline is not in jail now. He is living a free life as if he did not commit any crimes.
Cline was charged with perjury for lying to investigators, and he could only face up to three years in jail for each count. The allegations arose from two documented incidents of paternity, but the children ‘treated’ by Cline claim DNA testing reveal he is the biological father of up to 20 of them.
According to Matt White and his mother, Liz White, Cline deserved significantly worse punishment. He claimed that DNA testing proved Cline was his biological father, even though Cline told his mother decades before that he donated anonymous sperms.
Fertility fraud was not a crime under state or federal law, while there is a push in at least three states, including Indiana, to modify the criminal code.
Cline was found guilty of two felony charges impeding the state attorney general’s inquiry into the case in 2017.
A judge deferred cline’s sentence, but he did have to pay a $500 fine and $185 in court expenses.
Is Donald Cline Guilty?
After pleading guilty to two obstructions of justice charges, Donald Cline received a one-year suspended sentence. No further charges were filed against Clint, 79 since Indiana law does not expressly ban fertility practitioners from using their sperm.
After becoming suspicious when searching internet records for biological relations, some of Cline’s former patients’ now-adult offspring filed a complaint with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office in 2014.
According to court papers, paternity tests done by the Marion County prosecutor’s office indicated Cline’s DNA to match the biological father of at least two of his patients’ children.
When Cline resigned in 2009, he initially disputed the claims in a letter to investigators, claiming that the ladies who submitted the charges attempted to accuse him. On Thursday, he admitted he had lied.
Was Donald Cline Suspended & License Revoked?
Nothing about Donald Cline’s license revoked and suspension has been known to the world. According to Dr. William E. Chapman, a longtime friend of Cline’s since they met as students at Indiana University 59 years ago, he was a “doctor’s doctor.”
The two even purchased neighboring plots of land in Zionsville to become neighbors. In November 2017, Chapman wrote to Marion Superior Court Judge Helen Marchal, pleading for mercy for his pal.
Cline was one of Indiana’s first surgeons to conduct laparoscopic surgery, a minimally invasive procedure that employs a tiny camera known as a laparoscope.
He once delivered the keynote address at the International Symposium on Infertility in Bologna, Italy. Several times, Indianapolis Monthly ranked him a top doctor.