HOUSTON — A Houston doctor has been indicted for obtaining the records of pediatric patients at Texas Children's Hospital who were not under his care and without authorization, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
The indictment alleges Ethan Haim, 34, illegally accessed patient names, treatment codes and attending physicians "under false pretenses and with intent to cause malicious harm to TCH."
Haim was a resident at Baylor College of Medicine and had previous rotations at TCH as part of his residency, according to the indictment. In April 2023, Haim allegedly requested to re-activate his login access at TCH to access the personal information of pediatric patients not under his care.
Haim claims he "blew the whistle on Texas Children's secret sex-change program" and the feds are trying to "intimidate him into silence."
"Institutions corrupted with rot and malfeasance will do anything to purge those who have themselves not been corrupted," Haim posted on X.
Shortly after Haim allegedly accessed the records, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was launching an investigation into Texas Children's Hospital to find out whether they are "actively engaging in illegal behavior and performing gender transitioning procedures on children.” He labeled the procedures "child abuse."
A few days later, TCH said it was "discontinuing gender-transitioning care over the next few months in anticipation of Senate Bill 14 becoming law," on Sept. 1, 2023.
After a court appearance in downtown Houston Monday, Haim insisted he is innocent.
"I have maintained from day one that I have done nothing wrong. We're going to fight this tooth and nail, stand up for whistleblowers everywhere," Haim said.
U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw, who represents the Houston area, also weighed in on X and sent a letter to Congress.
"Flat out — this prosecution should not be happening; that's obvious to anyone following @EithanHaim 's story. But unfortunately, he is being prosecuted because of Biden's politicized DOJ," Crenshaw posted. "They're looking to make an example of him so that no one with a different viewpoint steps out of line."
If convicted of all four felony counts, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.