FRIENDS STAND BY DOCTOR : PHYSICIAN PUT ON LEAVE AFTER EXAMINING GIRL.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Colleagues and patients of Dr. Christine Daniel came to her defense Wednesday, saying the emergency room physician was wrongfully accused of improperly treating a 4-year-old girl who allegedly was molested by her 12-year-old cousin.

Since examining the victim Aug. 4 at Lancaster Community Hospital, Daniel said she has lost her emergency room privileges at the Lancaster facility and at three hospitals in the San Fernando Valley, as well as one in the Los Angeles area and has been the target of venom from strangers.

``The media's initial coverage misrepresented Dr. Daniel as a monster who did not care about a hurting child. That portrayal is absolutely false,'' said Claire Reeves, president of Monrovia-based Mothers Against Sexual Abuse, who called a press conference in support of Daniel.

Sheriff's deputies said Daniel, a Woodland Hills resident who had worked since 1994 on contract with the Lancaster hospital to provide emergency room services, at first said she did not feel comfortable examining the victim and would not perform the rape test procedure requested by deputies.

Daniel left for 90 minutes and then returned - at which point she swabbed the girl ``abruptly,'' which caused the girl to cry, deputies said. Deputies said reports indicated the doctor either did not complete the exam or did not collect all the evidence needed.

Daniel said the girl had to wait because the nurse from the Sexual Assault Response Service, a local organization called in to help sexual abuse victims, did not arrive for a while.

When she examined the girl, Daniel said she noticed purple bruises, signs of previous sexual abuse, and wanted to refer the girl to a pediatric gynecologist, but deputies and the victim's mother and grandmother refused.

``The deputies were in a hurry to arrest a 12-year-old who wasn't going anywhere,'' Daniel said.

When she attempted to do a pelvic exam, the girl pulled her legs together and started crying and screaming. Not wanting to cause the girl further injury and believing she should be seen by a specialist, Daniel said she did not complete the exam.

Daniel, who is African-American, speculated deputies differed in their account of what happened possibly because of racism or fear that they would be reported for not investigating the suspected prior sexual abuse.

``I believe they thought, `Here is this black woman standing up to us.' My thing was to help the girl,'' Daniel said. ``They probably thought that I would report them for not allowing the child to be seen by a specialist for the previous injury.''

Sgt. Kevin Carney, head of the child abuse detail at the Lancaster Sheriff's Station, declined Wednesday to comment on Daniel's remarks.

Deputy District Attorney Dennis Young said the staff at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center examined the girl Aug. 6 and did not find any evidence of prior molestation or trauma.

``We have not found any corroborating evidence of that,'' Young said.

According to the hospital, the child was brought into the emergency room at 9:05 p.m., the SARS group was called at 9:30 p.m. and a representative arrived at 10:10 p.m.

The child was ready to be examined by 11:30 p.m., and the examination was completed at 1:30 a.m., according to a written statement released by the hospital two weeks ago.

``We have been told that, unfortunately, four hours is not an unusual amount of time for a case of this nature,'' the hospital's statement said.

Reeves said her organization decided to call the press conference after her office was flooded with calls from other physicians who praised Daniel.

``What she did is what every physician should be doing,'' said Dr. Mort Green. ``She wanted to refer the child to a pediatric specialist and didn't want to lose the evidence. She did her job, and did it ethically and professionally.''

Daniel said after initial newspaper reports about the girl's alleged ill treatment appeared, people yelled and screamed at her and threw raw eggs at her car.

Daniel said hospital officials feared negative publicity if it was known that she worked there, so they ``asked me to take a leave of absence'' for an indefinite period of time.

Daniel founded the Sonrise Community Outreach Programs, which offer free medical services to the poor in 1979, and she is a medical missionary who helps in the distribution of food and clothing in places such as Africa and Mexico.

Daniel said she donated 80 percent of the income she earned doing emergency room work to her programs.

Copies of letters from supporters provided by Reeves' sexual abuse group described Daniel as a ``Mother Theresa of America'' and a ``compassionate, kind and giving person . . . who has given of herself and personal finances to help the less fortunate.''

``It is not Dr. Daniel's nature to be rude, harsh or unkind to anyone, especially to a hurting person, and especially to a child,'' wrote one couple from Ventura.

Minnie Pickens of Pasadena said she was raped in 1992 and has been under the treatment of Daniel for several years. ``She was marvelous and very caring. She calmed me down,'' Pickens said. ``I was very nervous and upset, and she really took care of me.''

``For Dr. Christine Daniel, and all of the other dedicated medical professionals, we must not send a message that if you dare to protect a child, your career and your livelihood are on the line,'' Reeves said.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) DANIEL

(2) Dr. Christine Daniels defen ds her treatment of a 4-year-old alleged rape victim at a meeting Wednesday.

John McCoy/Daily News