Alaska doctor killed in house fire days after arrest on child sex abuse charges
A disgraced cardiologist who was quietly ousted from the Alaska State Medical Board was found dead in a house fire at his home mere days after he was arrested on child sex abuse charges — and bailed out by his wife.Ryan McDonough, 46, was identified as the sole victim in a fire at his family home in Wasilla, Alaska on Dec.13.
He was originally reported missing in the wake of the inferno, but responding firefighters later uncovered the torched remains of an adult male they said was McDonough, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety and State Troopers’ daily dispatch.McDonough was arrested and charged with 10 counts of possessing child sex abuse material on Dec.11.
His wife covered his $50,000 bail on Dec.12, the Anchorage Daily News reported.The cause of the weekend fire is still under investigation.
None of the other residents in the home was injured.McDonough limped through a single-month term on the state medical board, which Alaska Gov.Mike Dunleavy appointed him to in August.
He made scattered appearances at meetings in August and September before informally withdrawing from the board that regulates doctors and other medical professionals, according to public records viewed by the Alaska Beacon.McDonough also worked as a cardiologist at the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and Mat-Su Medical Group.The company told Alaska Public Media that he was fired the day of his arrest.The doctor was scrubbed from the board’s roster in November.
A spokesperson for the governor told the outlet that his office just learned about McDonough’s allegations last week and was not aware of any investigations when he was first appointed.Dropbox, an online storage company, originally sent a tip about illicit materials in McDonough’s account to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on July 31, according to an affidavit obtained by the Alaska Beacon.In the tip, the company claimed his account contained a video of a child being sexually abused.A ...