Dentist said to hit patients will pay $12k for trying to out YouTube critic

In late 2015, a Georgia dentist who had lost his license sued an anonymous YouTube user for defamation. After an intervention by Public Citizen, the user will remain anonymous, while the dentist will pay $12,000 in attorneys' fees.

The Georgia State Board of Dentistry revoked the license of Gordon Trent Austin after he pled guilty to six counts of Medicare fraud pursuant to a 2009 indictment. The indictment also said that Austin beat several patients, including children. The assault charges were dropped as part of the plea deal. "When patients moaned, or even cried out, during the procedures, loudly enough to be heard by other patients in the waiting room, Austin would tell the patient to stop making noise and, if the patient failed to obey his command, the claim was that Austin would then strike them with a dental instrument to reinforce the command," Public Citizen attorney Paul Levy said in court papers.

An Atlanta-area television station broadcast a two-part investigation about Austin that same year. The TV investigation was uploaded to YouTube by an anonymous user called "gordonaustinsacoward."

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