Former Children's of Alabama doctor arrested for sex with teenager in Mississippi

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBMA) — A former pediatric doctor at Alabama's largest children's hospital and former professor at The University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) was arrested in Mississippi and charged with Sexual Battery of a teenage girl, after a concerned parent called the police.

According to the Madison, Mississippi Police Department, Dr. Neelesh A. Tipnis, 49, was charged with Sexual Battery last week after investigators discovered he allegedly had a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl.

The parent told police that their daughter had been having inappropriate electronic communications with an adult.

Police said they later learned that between December 2019 and January 2020 Dr. Tipnis had inappropriate contact with the teen and allegedly committed Sexual Battery.

Sexual Battery is defined under Mississippi law as engaging in sexual penetration with a child between the ages of 14 and 16, if the person charged is at least three years older than the victim.

According to The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s website, Dr. Tipnis was a professor and medical doctor specializing in pediatric gastroenterology starting in 2017.

In a statement to ABC 33/40 UAB said,

We are aware of and looking into this extremely troubling situation. Neelesh Tipnis no longer works for us.

It's not clear when Dr. Tipnis' employment ended with Children's and UAB but as of noon on Saturday, Jan. 18 he was still listed as a Pediatric Gastroenterologist at Children's of Alabama in the hospital's staff doctor directory.

When asked for comment, Children's of Alabama referred ABC 33/40 to UAB's official statement.

Dr. Tipnis was being held at the Madison County Detention Center awaiting his initial court appearance in Madison Municipal Court.