Jan Kriwinsky: Charges, License Suspension, Plea, and Sentence

Former Beachwood, Ohio pediatrician Jan Kriwinsky was sentenced on September 25, 2025 to 30 days in the Cuyahoga County Jail, a $1,200 fine, four years of community control, and 15 years of Tier 1 sex offender registration, and was ordered to permanently surrender his medical license. The sentencing followed his August 12, 2025 guilty plea to amended misdemeanor charges of sexual imposition and endangering children, which replaced an original felony indictment that included rape.¹

The Original Charges

A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Kriwinsky on December 29, 2023 on one count of rape (a first-degree felony), one count of sexual battery (a third-degree felony), and two counts of gross sexual imposition (fourth-degree felonies). He pleaded not guilty and was released on a $25,000 bond, with the case assigned to Judge Mollie Ann Murphy.²³

The indictment involved two male juvenile patients and incidents years apart. The earlier allegation, from September 2019, came from a patient who reported that Kriwinsky touched his scrotum without gloves during an examination, did not use proper draping, and required him to undress in front of the doctor. The patient’s parent reported it to the State Medical Board of Ohio, which notified Beachwood police in October 2019.⁴

The second allegation came from a November 14, 2023 appointment. Investigators reported that a 15-year-old patient at the office for acne treatment was asked to undress without a medical gown, and that Kriwinsky made sexually inappropriate remarks and had sexual contact with the patient. The minor recorded video of resulting injuries on Snapchat, underwent a sexual assault examination at Hillcrest Hospital on November 16, and gave a statement to Beachwood police the following day.⁵⁴

Medical License Suspended Before Trial

On November 22, 2023, before any criminal charges were filed, the State Medical Board of Ohio held a special hearing and summarily suspended Kriwinsky’s certificate to practice medicine and surgery. The board found that his continued practice “presents a danger of immediate and serious harm to the public.” He was required to stop practicing immediately and refer his active patients to other physicians. Kriwinsky appealed the suspension in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in December 2023.⁶

Kriwinsky had operated the Pediatric Place in Beachwood since 1991 after years as an attending physician in the pediatric emergency room at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital.⁴

The Plea Deal

Trial began on August 11, 2025 before Judge Murphy. Kriwinsky waived his right to a jury and opted for a bench trial.³ The next day, he changed his plea.

Under the plea agreement, Kriwinsky pleaded guilty to amended charges of sexual imposition, a third-degree misdemeanor, and endangering children, a first-degree misdemeanor. The original felony counts of rape, sexual battery, and gross sexual imposition were dropped. As part of the agreement, he also agreed to permanently surrender his medical license and register as a Tier 1 sex offender.⁷

What the Sentence Includes

At the September 25, 2025 sentencing, family members of both victims gave impact statements, and so did supporters of Kriwinsky. Judge Murphy imposed:¹

30 days in the Cuyahoga County Jail, with credit for one day of time served.
A $1,200 fine.
Four years of supervised community control, one year per count, overseen by the adult probation department’s sex offender unit. Conditions include a sex offender assessment with a possible polygraph, sex offender counseling, random drug testing, and a $20 monthly supervision fee.
Annual Tier 1 sex offender registration for 15 years.
A no-contact order barring Kriwinsky and his family from contacting the two victims and their families.
Permanent surrender of his medical license, as stipulated in the plea agreement.

The Cleveland Jewish News reported that among reader reactions to its sentencing coverage, the most common response was anger.¹

The Discovery Fight That Preceded the Plea

Before the case resolved, it generated a published appellate opinion over defense efforts to obtain the younger victim’s personal records. Beginning in January 2024, Kriwinsky’s attorneys subpoenaed the victim’s medical, mental health, school, and pharmacy records, and sought a forensic extraction of his cell phone. The defense argued the phone held potentially exculpatory material, including video metadata, Google search history related to “friction burns from masturbation,” and Instagram posts.⁵

The victim, identified as John Doe, moved to quash under Ohio’s Marsy’s Law. In June 2024, the trial court ordered a full forensic extraction of the phone by the Internet Crimes Against Children unit but limited what the defense could see to three narrow categories: the victim’s November 2023 Google search history, Instagram data from a three-day window, and metadata from two specific videos. The court also ordered an in-camera review of the medical and school records.⁵

On July 15, 2024, the Eighth District Court of Appeals affirmed in State v. Kriwinsky, 2024-Ohio-2690, holding that Marsy’s Law rights are not absolute and must be balanced against a defendant’s constitutional rights, and that the trial court’s controlled, limited disclosure met that standard.⁵

1
Cleveland Jewish News. Doctor Jan Kriwinsky Sentenced
2
Cleveland 19 News. Beachwood Pediatrician Indicted on Rape Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations
3
Cleveland Jewish News. Kriwinsky Waives Jury as Trial Begins
4
Cleveland.com. Beachwood Pediatrician’s License Suspended Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations
5
Supreme Court of Ohio. State v. Kriwinsky, 2024-Ohio-2690
6
State Medical Board of Ohio. Entry of Order – Jan Kriwinsky
7
FOX 8 Cleveland. Former Beachwood Pediatrician Pleads Guilty to Endangering Children