MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee-area family is suing a former OB-GYN, alleging he secretly used his own sperm to impregnate a patient who sought artificial insemination more than 40 years ago.
Mary Ellen Lukezich and her son Joseph Laedtke filed the lawsuit Thursday against Dr. Frederick Dettmann, alleging he deceptively used his own sperm to inseminate Lukezich in the early 1980s when she was trying to have a child through artificial insemination.
Attorney Al Foeckler, who represents the family, described the allegations in stark terms.
Watch: Milwaukee family sues former OB-GYN, alleging he used his own sperm to impregnate patient
"What I'm about to share with you sounds like something out of a Maury Povich episode or the Jerry Springer show," Foeckler said in June. "This is not entertainment, this is not fiction, this is the awful truth of what happened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin."
The lawsuit alleges Lukezich had been trying to get pregnant for years under Dettmann's care. He then recommended artificial insemination, telling her the donor would be a healthy and anonymous medical student.
Forty years later, after Laedtke submitted his DNA to Ancestry.com, he said he found several half-siblings, and they all had links to a common person.
"The anonymous medical student donor that my mother was promised as my biological father never existed; instead, the DNA went back to one person, Dr. Frederick Dettmann," Laedtke said.
"Words cannot fully express what it feels like to learn your entire identity is built on a lie, by a doctor who took an oath to do no harm," Laedtke said.
This is not the first time allegations have been raised against Dettmann. According to Whitefish Bay police records, Dettmann was accused of assaulting a woman during a gynecological exam in 1985. Investigators chose not to issue charges, saying the burden of proof would be "too difficult." Police say any reports or evidence from that case would have been destroyed under records retention laws in place at the time.
Multiple attempts to contact Dettmann by phone and email received no response. Dettmann now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. An investigative reporter from KNXV, a Scripps News Group partner station, went to his home and also received no answer.
Lawyers for the family say they hope more people will come forward and that Dettmann will be required to submit DNA to the courts.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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