By Sydney Sullivan
It’s doubtful there has ever been a case that we’ve investigated this thoroughly that has been so fraught with misrepresentations, fabrications, suspense and intrigue as this one you’re about to see. A good and kind community doctor was accused of sexual misconduct by a woman who claimed to be a “hospice” caretaker.
The story starts in the summer of 2016 when a general practice physician was asked by a local State Senator to be the doctor of record for a gentleman that was later found to be under the unwanted control of the senator. The doctor had no reason to decline since the gentleman was already his patient through the community clinic.
That June of 2016, the senator introduced one of his older staff members as a caretaker for the gentleman who was a neighbor of the senator’s because he had just been released from the hospital. The woman Introduced herself as the “hospice” caretaker for the gentleman, a 69-year-old man, that the doctor knew hadn’t been a hospice patient. While it also seemed odd that the woman would claim to be a hospice caretaker when she wasn’t a certified hospice caregiver, the doctor had very little time to check into it because the gentleman died shortly thereafter in September 2016 under the care of the woman and her companion.
On July 19, 2016, Dr. Bekkum was visiting his patient when the Hawaii Adult Abuse Services investigator and his nurse made an unexpected visit. The woman and her boyfriend companion were also at the gentleman’s house. The investigator began to privately ask the gentleman questions about the complaint that he had lodged with the state. During the encounter, the doctor witnessed the woman become angry and argumentative demanding to know who called Protective Services.
The investigator turned his back on the woman as he was addressing the gentleman. The doctor saw the woman lunge at the investigator. She was held back by her companion who took the woman outside where she continued arguing. Thereafter, the woman left and disappeared for about two weeks. This information is well documented.
The woman returned to the gentleman’s property in August 2016 and shortly after, the gentleman was pronounced dead on September 4, 2016. The woman did not call Dr. Bekkum (the doctor of record) when the gentleman expired, nor did they call the community health center with emergency hours. There is no known record of an EMT call. Dr. Bekkum found out about the mysterious death only later. An unknown doctor from Kula (on the other side of the island) signed the death certificate and called it “End stage Early Onset Dementia” as cause of death. The gentleman was cremated shortly after and the senator proceeded to take over the gentleman’s property and estate.
The woman and her companion continued to live in gentleman’s $million dollar+ Maui waterfront home for nearly a year. In September 2017, the woman was asked by the senator to move out of the gentleman’s house. The woman complained of severe back and leg pain issues from moving and asked Dr. Bekkum and friends to help move the rest of her belongings to her new house about an hour away. Doc helped pack some of her items in his car and drove them into her place, dropped off the household goods and left.
Dr. Bekkum agreed to help the woman by providing PRP therapy for back pain when she requested it on September 26, 2017, allegedly texting on her iPhone 5C, “I might need to prp sooner.” Doc’s daughter went with him to the woman’s house at around 6:30 PM on Friday, September 29th, 2017.
PRP therapy has become a well-recognized pain treatment that has been around for about a decade.
“I rode along to the woman’s house and stayed in the car doing my homework during the procedure. After the treatment, the woman seemed very pleased and walked out on the lanai with Dad and we left,” stated Dr. Bekkum’s daughter who continued, “the woman texted my Dad the next morning at 5:58 AM on Saturday, September 30th, 2016 and said she had the ‘first full night’s sleep in months!’ We went back the next day to check on the woman’s injections site and she was fine. Both times while I was in the car, I could hear and see the woman’s house as the windows and doors were open. I don’t believe the woman knew either time I was in the car.”
Over eight months later, the woman filed a sexual assault complaint against Dr. Bekkum.
To be clear here, this wasn’t an allegation of rape or even touching a private area. “Not a rape,” says the woman to the Maui Police Officer on May 18, 2018. “It’s — it’s a doctor who tried to molest me while I was in a paper gown” in September 2017. Eight months later the woman had waited to file a police report.
Maui Detective Q (April 2019): And how did that touch, was it like a brush up, was it a cup, or was it something else?
The woman’s Answer: “It was clearly intending to be a grab, but I jumped immediately when I felt contact with my breast.” . . .“He did not get to my vag****, but that’s where he was going.”
Before Dr. Bekkum had ever heard about the police complaint, the woman’s lawyer had contacted his malpractice attorney and said, ‘pay $800,000 or else we will damage his reputation in the media.’
Dr. Bekkum could have settled through his insurance, but he knew he was innocent, and the allegations are completely false. Again, Dr. Bekkum had passed a lie detector test and he is committed to maintaining his innocence.
The last attempt to extract money from Dr. Bekkum was documented by his trial attorney. It said the woman was “done with Maui” and if he would settle the civil case for $150,000.00, “that she would leave the island and not appear at the trial of the criminal case.”
Many men find themselves in similar situations where they are wrongfully accused, or a fictitious story is conjured up to destroy them for purposes of revenge, extortion, alibi or blackmail. Dr. Bekkum knows it’s harder (and a lot more expensive) to fight the false allegations rather than settle. He believed, “I am innocent, and the truth will prevail.” Morally, his family and friends are compelled to fight this injustice and hope that it helps someone else facing the same scenario.
Please use Dr. Bekkum’s VENMO@curtis-bekkum account for donations.
You might be asking yourself, how could a jury convict Dr. Bekkum on such flimsy accusations? And, what motive would the woman have to lie about such a serious and destructive allegation of sexual assault? The answers to these questions and more are coming up soon. Stay tuned – you’re not going to want to miss what happens next.
In the meantime, Dr. Bekkum needs your support. Fighting to prove his innocence is expensive and he’s not just fighting for himself, Dr. Bekkum is fighting for all of us – our brothers, sons, uncles, husbands and friends, and anyone faced with false allegations and fabricated evidence.
If you want to help but are uncomfortable donating online, please contact Kiki Bekkum, P.O. Box 278, Hana, Hawaii 96713 for alternative donation methods or you can use Venmo@Curtis-Bekkum.
Please keep sharing Dr. Bekkum’s VENMO account, and know that all future donations will be put into our separate saving account and used to help us cover future retainers and legal fees.
Venmo is a faster, safer, more secure process – and doesn’t ask you for a tip.
***All details and facts within are accurate to the best of our knowledge. We do not intend to be inflammatory to any party involved. As this is an ongoing legal matter, We will not provide the names or other personal details of those involved unless it is part of the court or public record.***
Deadly Clear 