A Santa Rosa chiropractor charged with molesting one of his patients was temporarily barred Monday from treating women.
Brian Icke was also ordered to stand trial on two felony sex charges stemming from an alleged incident on Nov. 10 at Advanced Chiropractic on Fourth Street.
Following a preliminary hearing, Judge Rene Chouteau found there was sufficient evidence to support charges that Icke acted in an improper sexual manner.
He granted prosecutor Roseanne Darling's request to temporarily prohibit Icke from treating women. Under the judge's ruling, the restriction will be in place for three weeks or until the state licensing agency can determine if another suspension is warranted.
Chouteau balked at a request from the state Attorney General's office to bar Icke from all practice.
"We have a chiropractor out there who has touched a woman in an inappropriate way," Darling argued. "We believe that's a public safety issue."
The ruling followed testimony from the patient, a 60-year-old woman who said she began visiting Icke in March 2011 for treatment of shoulder and back injuries suffered when she was hit by a car.
The woman testified she was treated by both Icke and his wife, Melissa, who is also a chiropractor.
On the day in question, she arrived to find Icke working alone. She described how he locked the front door of his business before the two stepped into a private examination room for treatment.
Once on his table, she testified that Icke directed her to drop her pants and underwear, unhitch her bra and lay on her stomach.
She testified that he massaged her upper thighs with lotion and touched her vagina, causing it to sting. He fondled her pubic area and breasts when she flipped on her back, she testified.
She also testified that he made sexually suggestive comments and apologized when she confronted him.
"He said he was sorry," she testified. "That he got carried away."
Icke's lawyer questioned the woman about seemingly contradicting statements she made to police. Attorney Chris Andrian asked her if she recalled telling officers that some touching may have been an accident.
She responded "I don't recall" to several questions.
Andrian argued against any suspension of Icke's practice. He said it could affect his ability to mount a defense.
Prosecutors said it was a reasonable condition of his bail, which is set at $140,000. They cited his prior history, which includes a conviction for a similar incident involving female patients in 1999.
Both sides will return to court April 23 for further proceedings. Icke faces eight years in prison if convicted of the charges.
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