Former Berks doctor sentenced to 26-plus years in prison for sexually assaulting and secretly recording children

May 2—A former family physician in Berks County has received a long state prison sentence after pleading guilty to sexually abusing two boys and secretly recording numerous children and adults in the bathroom of his home.

Justin Rutherford, 34, of Amity Township was sentenced Monday by Berks Judge Eleni Dimitrou Geishauser to 26 years and 10 months to 70 years in prison. He was also sentenced to serve 12 years of special probation after his prison term.

Rutherford on Monday pleaded guilty to rape of a child, rape of an unconscious person, sexual abuse of children and invasion of privacy. It was a non-negotiated plea, meaning he admitted to the charges but could not work out a sentence with prosecutors, officials said.

County detectives said Rutherford, a former family physician with West Reading-based Tower Heath, sexually abused two boys and secretly recorded guests over several years as they showered or used the bathroom of his home.

Numerous victims were filmed, but only six children and two adults could be identified, prosecutors said.

Investigators said they recovered 2,822 videos and 1,400 still images dating to 2018 from the data card of the camera Rutherford used to record guests and family members and identified some of those who were unknowingly recorded. One of the two sexually abused teens also was among the victims who was recorded, investigators said.

While awaiting trial, Rutherford was charged with plotting from Berks County Prison to have someone kill one of his sexual assault victims. He is charged with criminal solicitation to commit first-degree murder, and that case is awaiting further court action.

Rutherford was arrested Oct. 2, 2021, at Dulles International Airport by local authorities in Virginia on a warrant from Berks detectives. Rutherford was returning from the United Kingdom, having left the U.S. after investigators raided his home in early August 2021 and confiscated electronic devices.

After the charges were filed, Tower Health terminated Rutherford's employment.

Rutherford had been held in Berks County Prison since his arrest.

According to detectives:

The investigation began July 17, 2021, after a 13-year-old boy and his mother went to Amity police with the camera the boy discovered while showering at Rutherford's home. Amity police seized the device and contacted county detectives for further investigation.

The boy, who was interviewed in the presence of his mother, said he was at a friend's house, using the second-floor bathroom, when he noticed a black cube plugged into a wall outlet. He saw a faint blue light illuminated on the corner of the cube.

The boy thought it was a camera and called his mother. He described what he found and sent her photographs of the cube. She conducted some research and concluded the box was likely a camera and told her son to take the device.

The boy, who was apprehensive, shared his concerns with a male friend who was at the residence. The friend went to the bathroom and removed the cube from the outlet.

The pair immediately left the residence with the device.

Berks County Children and Youth Services caseworkers interviewed Rutherford, and he denied any knowledge of a camera in the bathroom.

Detectives obtained a search warrant to examine the camera and found the videos that captured unsuspecting people in various states of undress.

The camera appeared to be motion activated and had the capability of being viewed live through an app and potentially downloaded to a cellphone.

Detectives searched the home and found another black cube device inside a nightstand, closest to where the defendant slept.

That led detectives to identify two male teen victims, who disclosed they were sexually abused and assaulted by Rutherford.

One of them, a 17-year-old, said Rutherford gave him marijuana and alcohol and sexually assaulted him after he became intoxicated and fell asleep.

The other victim, 16 at the time of the interview, said Rutherford sexually abused him for several years, beginning when he was 11 and continuing through that summer.

In addition to the criminal charges, Rutherford was sued in Berks County Court by one of the victims and his parents. A settlement was reached, but details of the agreement were sealed and unavailable.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were identified only as Jane and John Doe, parents of Minor John Doe. Named as the defendants were Rutherford and his wife, Stacey. The suit asserted the Rutherfords failed to take reasonable measures to prevent harm to the boy, who was an invited guest and playmate of their son.

The suit initially sought a jury trial and more than $50,000 in punitive and compensatory damages for each of the five counts.

After the suit was filed, Stacey Rutherford issued a statement that she was in no way a part of her husband's actions and that she and her children also were victims.

In the solicitation-for-murder case, Rutherford wrote down the male teen's address, personal identifying information, schedule, interests and the vehicle he drives and drew a floor plan of the victim's home, detectives said in a criminal complaint filed Jan. 23.

According to that filing:

During the investigation, a Berks detective received documentation of Rutherford's written instructions and the hand-drawn floor plan that he provided to another individual. No description of that person was included in the affidavit.

Detectives intercepted conversations Rutherford had with the individual while in the jail, including one of Rutherford discussing having a teen victim murdered.

Rutherford said that a Monday evening would be the best time to kill the boy since no one else would be home and it would be dark. He told his would-be conspirator to wear gloves and a layer of clothing so no DNA would be found. The person was to knock out the youth before painlessly killing him. It wasn't clear in the affidavit how the youth was to be killed.

Rutherford also indicated the killer should make sure the victim wasn't breathing, and that the body should be placed on a tarp in the trunk of a vehicle to be taken to a forest somewhere and buried.

Rutherford said the victim could be burned in a barrel to get rid of any evidence.

After the act was completed, he said, he would ask his lawyer for a new court date.