CLAYTON, Mo. – A former pediatrician and SSM Health are now the focus of a lawsuit filed by nationally known attorney Ben Crump and local attorney Kayla Onder.

The attorneys held a news conference where a patient also spoke out about former doctor Craig Spiegel and the allegations against him of trading prescription drugs for sex.

The former patient, who asked to be called only by her first name, Mallory, said, “I am the voice for those who are afraid to come forward.”

Mallory stood with the support of her sister as she continued through tears, “Abusers should be held accountable for their actions, and it starts with us.”

“Dr. Spiegel was abusing women and children under the guise of medical treatment. SSM was aware and did nothing,” Onder said.

SSM Health responded to the news conference with a statement saying Spiegel was never employed by them.

The statement continued, “Dr. Spiegel leased space from a third-party organization known as Ventas in a medical office building adjacent to SSM Health DePaul Hospital. As an organization dedicated to the safety and well-being of our patients and team members, we are deeply saddened by the unfounded allegations directed towards SSM Health.”

Onder countered, “(Patients) pulled up to the building; they saw SSM’s name, and they trusted that he was affiliated. For anyone who’s been to SSM, you know when you’ve been to the campus, you recognize it as the SSM building. Just because there’s a doctor in a medical facility within their campus, are we going to put it on the victims to understand private real estate contracts?”

67-year-old Spiegel was charged criminally in March, when we spoke to federal prosecutor Amy Sestrick.

“We are aware of at least 25 individuals who have received controlled substances from Dr. Spiegel in exchange for sexual acts, sexual photographs, or cash,” Sestrick said at the time.

At the news conference Thursday, Crump says that turned out to be just the beginning of abuse allegations going back a decade.

“There’s so many more people who have come forward to Kayla and me who just don’t feel like the system protects people like them,” he said.

Onder added, “Quite frankly, some of the details we can’t say on broadcast television.”

There’s no court date yet set on the civil side. Defendant Spiegel has a federal court date next month.