Doctor accused of child prostitution sting relinquishes license to practice in Kentucky

A cardiologist arrested in a child prostitution sting has surrendered his license to practice medicine in Kentucky.

Yogesh Patel has reached an agreement with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensing (KBML) to resolve a pending investigation without a hearing, according to an order released by the board on Monday.

Patel, a interventional cardiologist, listed Brighton, Col., as his residence. He had been licensed in Kentucky since September 2019 and said he planned to practice in Kentucky this year, according to the board.

In a January application to renew his Kentucky license, Patel said he had not been the subject of a criminal investigation or charged with a crime since his last renewal.

However, regulators in Illinois, where Patel attended medical school, suspended his license in February based on an allegation that he had been arrested in Colorado in November 2023 for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl, according to with the order of the KBML.

The Daily Sentinel newspaper in Grand Junction, Colonel, reported that Patel was one of 10 men arrested in police operation.

Police said Patel, who was 56 at the time, spoke to an undercover officer posing as a mother who was prostituting her daughter, according to the report.

Patel agreed to pay $300 for an hour of sex with the teen, according to the report.

Police arrested Patel after he arrived at a motel where the meeting was allegedly taking place.

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Colonel said Patel was charged with solicitation of child prostitution and flattery from a child.

Patel surrendered his license in Illinois but did not report that action to the Kentucky board as required, according to the KBML order.

The Kentucky board offered Patel the opportunity to give up his license rather than issue a complaint and emergency suspension order against him, according to the document.

Patel neither admitted nor denied the criminal charges against him, but agreed to permanently surrender his license to practice medicine in Kentucky.

If the board learns of anything he does that could constitute the practice of medicine in Kentucky, it will “aggressively pursue” criminal prosecution, according to the order.