Redwood City, Calif.
A noted child psychiatrist pleaded not guilty Friday to charges he molested seven boys in his care, and his lawyer said the accusers had mistaken routine physical examinations for sexual abuse.William Ayres, 75, appeared briefly in San Mateo County Superior Court with his wife and lawyer at his side as a prosecutor added three additional counts involving two new alleged victims to the indictment.
Dozens of Ayres' former patients, dating to the late 1960s, have come forward to accuse him of abusing them, but in many cases the allegations fall outside the statute of limitations.
Ayres now faces 21 counts of lewd and lascivious behavior involving seven former patients. Five of the boys were between 9 and 12 when the alleged abuse took place.
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