Former Monongahela doctor charged in human trafficking sting
A doctor who once worked in the Mon Valley has been accused of traveling to Ohio for a sexual encounter with someone he believed to be a minor.
The office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the charges in a press release issued earlier this week. Dr. Robert Zewe Jr., 50, of Erie, faces felony charges of compelling prostitution, possession of criminal tools, and a misdemeanor of engaging in prostitution.
Zewe was at one point employed by Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital in Monongahela. The hospital did not return a phone call seeking comment, but his employment was announced in a social media post last year.
It is not clear when his employment at Penn Highlands ended. A profile page for Zewe on the hospital’s website has been removed.
According to the release, Zewe traveled to the Youngstown, Ohio, area after he allegedly agreed to pay for sex with with an underage girl and her mother.
Prosecutors said Zewe had actually been communicating with an undercover agent in the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force.