On April 30, 2025, Christopher Davis, a York County Doctor, was charged with over ninety crimes relating to the rape and sexual assault of at least four patients during his time as a physician.
Davis served as the medical director and lead physician at Pyramid Healthcare York Methadone Treatment Center between 2022 and 2024, where the alleged offenses occurred. He also owned a private practice at 1800 Market Street in York, PA, specializing in addiction care.
According to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Davis allegedly “coerced methadone patients into sexual acts in exchange for him continuing to authorize their access to drug treatment medications.” Methadone is commonly prescribed to individuals recovering from opioid use disorder and is used to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms. The investigation into Davis revealed that he “would withhold, or threaten to withhold, treatment benefits from patients who refused his sexual advances, while conversely, prescribing contra-indicated addictive medications to patients who acquiesced to his sexual demands.”
Additionally, Davis would allegedly take patient victims “to overnight medical conferences with him, into his home overnight when his wife was out of town and out to dinner . . . where he would encourage them to drink alcohol.” There are additional allegations that Davis would encourage women to “abuse medications while he treated them.”
In January 2024, numerous patients and a nurse practitioner reported concerns about his unusual prescribing behavior.
One of the alleged victims stated that Davis kissed her and forced his tongue into her mouth during a medical visit, telling her that “[t]he broken ones are the easiest.” Additionally, he allegedly accessed her personal information from her medical records and solicited nude photographs over text messages “several times per day over several months.”
Another alleged victim said that Davis threatened to kill her if she reported their sexual conduct to anyone. After threatening her, Davis allegedly “switched her from Methadone to Suboxone to try to enhance her sexual responses for his own purposes” and encouraged her to “undergo a medical procedure so she could have vaginal sex with him.”
A third alleged victim shared that during her initial examination, Davis “unzipped her pants, opened her pants and looked at her vagina” without medical justification. He then asked her “[w]hat it would take for her to sleep with him,” a question he repeated over the subsequent six visits. Davis allegedly warned, “[w]hat are you going to do, tell your doctor no?” and threatened to “make her life ‘a living hell’ and remove her from the methadone program. Due to her dependence on the treatment and Davis’s continued pressure, the alleged victim eventually had sex with Davis in exchange for $200.
An additional alleged victim shared that she engaged in sexual intercourse with Davis at each office visit, and their “dating” relationship allowed her to receive free visits. Furthermore, Davis would make frequent “home medical visits” for this patient. Davis also too this patient to events and encouraged her to drink alcohol “in spite of concerns that drinking could have consequences on her treatment.”
These allegations are not the first against Davis. In 2000, the state Board of Osteopathic Medicine disciplined him for medical misconduct after using a deceased woman’s body to simulate a mannequin, manipulating her body and acting as a ventriloquist. In 2002, he was charged with “stealing pain medication from the office supply and diluting drug vials with saline to hide his theft.” This resulted in a two year suspension of Davis’s medical license.
Davis abused his position of power as a medical professional and took advantage of his patients. According to the Pennsylvania’s Office of Attorney General, Davis used “his position as an addiction specialist to lure and coerce women into sexual encounters.”
Attorney General Dave Sunday commented on the charges, stating “[t]he patients relied on [Davis] to provide compassionate care and treatment as they navigated a path to recovery. Instead, he betrayed them time and time again.” Sunday additionally stated that “[Davis] abused his role as a gatekeeper to necessary medications for vulnerable patients by manipulating, intimidating, and assaulting numerous patients.” Sunday proceeded to say that “[p]eople seeking to better their lives through treatment should be celebrated and supported, not preyed upon and exploited.”
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Robert Smulktis and Deputy Attorney General Christy Schlottman of the Drug Strike Force Section.
The CSE Institute applauds the work of the Attorney General’s Office and, most importantly, the bravery of the survivors. The CSE Institute supports the survivors and is grateful that medical professionals are being held accountable for their roles in human trafficking.
While the CSE Institute commends the Attorney General’s Office, we encourage law enforcement to continue protecting their communities through thorough investigations into suspected sex trafficking. We also urge prosecutors across the Commonwealth to fully utilize Pennsylvania’s human trafficking statutes where appropriate. In particular, we encourage the Attorney General’s Office to consider bringing charges against Davis under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3012(b), which addresses trafficking in individuals. Applying this statute in cases like this underscores the Commonwealth’s commitment to addressing the full scope of trafficking conduct and ensuring justice for survivors.
During Davis’s preliminary hearing, all ninety two charges were waived for court. A pre-trial conference will be held on October 2, 2025. The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates on this matter.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.