A Union County grand jury has returned a six-count indictment against a formerly Summit-based pediatric gastroenterologist charged with sexual crimes against three patients, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Chief Robert K. Weck of the Summit Police Department jointly announced Friday.
Police say Michael Tyshkov, 65, of Livingston is charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault, one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.
An investigation by the Special Victims Unit of the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, in collaboration with the Summit Police Department, revealed that the first identified victim, a 20-year-old female, had been seen regularly for treatment by Tyshkov over the course of slightly more than a decade, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Stacey Zyriek, who is prosecuting the case.
The investigation revealed that the alleged sexual assaults occurred during medical exams taking place on numerous occasions from April 2016 through March 2019, the latter being the month in which he was charged, Zyriek said.
Charges were filed in connection with the two additional victims in August 2019, and they involved alleged crimes occurring on dates about four months apart in 2017. Those victims were 16 and 19, respectively, at the time.
Tyshkov is alleged to have sexually assaulted all of the victims under the guise of a routine gastroenterology exam.
It is strongly believed that there may be additional victims associated with this defendant. Tyshkov is also believed to have had a number of Russian-language speaking patients.
Anyone with information about Tyshkov’s activities is being urged to contact Special Victims Unit Detective Jennifer Smith at 908-965-3814 or Summit Police Department Detective Christopher Medina at 908-273-0051