Albemarle Pain Management Associates Clinic

Testimony/cross-examination questioned in rape cases

An Albemarle County physician facing 11 charges related to sexually assaulting 10 female patients was in court February 19 for a motions hearing.

Mark Hormuz Dean will be tried on multiple counts of rape, object sexual penetration, aggravated sexual battery, sexual battery, forcible sodomy, and abduction, all from his time as a doctor of osteopathic medicine at the Pantops-based Albemarle Pain Management Associates Clinic.

He’ll be tried separately for each victim’s accusations, with the first jury trial scheduled for April. At Dean’s most recent hearing, defense attorney Rhonda Quagliana expressed concern that her client won’t have a fair trial if the victim’s testimony at that trial alludes to other victims in the case.

The defense implied that the accuser will likely say she decided to come forward after hearing about Dean’s January 2018 indictment, and if she does, the jury will know there are multiple accusers, said Quagliana.

Prosecutor Darby Lowe said she didn’t intend to question the victim about any other cases, and Judge Humes Franklin said he will allow her to ask why the victim chose to speak out.

Quagliana also said she should have the right to cross-examine the victim, ask why she waited a year to file a police report, and inquire about her mental health history, prior complaints, and the civil suit she has also filed against Dean “to get money,” as the attorney put it.

The judge said he will limit the cross-examination on a case-by-case basis to ensure its relevance. Another motions hearing is scheduled for March 8.

Doctor’s orders: Physician makes bond, put on house arrest

The Pantops-area doctor arrested last Friday on five felonies related to allegedly raping and sexually assaulting his patients will be released from jail on a $50,000 bond.

A mass of friends and family showed in support of Mark Hormuz Dean, the Albemarle Pain Management Associates Clinic physician, and sat shoulder to shoulder in the crowded courtroom.

Several witnesses, including Dean’s father-in-law and a friend who also was a patient, testified about the character of the man who has been indicted on two counts of rape, two counts of object sexual penetration and one count of forcible sodomy.

Since his January 5 arrest, prosecutor Darby Lowe said five additional victims have come forward.

“When he’s not working, he’s constantly with his children,” said Peter Pellechia, the father of Dean’s wife and a retired NYPD homicide investigator. “He takes them and they go fishing.”

Dean is married to Stacy Pellechia Dean, an adjunct instructor at UVA’s Curry School of Education, and the couple lives in an Ednam Forest with two kids who are 15 and 13 years old, according to Pellechia’s testimony. The Deans purchased the house last year for $1.35 million, according to county property records.

Derrick Stone, the director of software development for the UVA Health System, told the judge that Dean often brings his children to Stone’s home for spiritual education classes on the religion they both share, called Baha’i, which teaches the unity of all people and the worth of all religions.

Stone, like the other witnesses who testified, said he was shocked to learn of the allegations against Dean.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I immediately reached out to see how I could help.”

The doctor was granted a $50,000 bond on the condition that he wears an ankle monitor, doesn’t leave his home and has no contact with his patients or staff.

Though the prosecutor argued that Dean has family in Florida and is considered a flight risk, defense attorney Rhonda Quagliana reminded the judge that several witnesses noted the doctor’s commitment to his family.

“People generally don’t just pick up and abandon a wife and kids,” she said.