Mich. Doctor Wanted to Ask ‘Mom’ to Have Sexual Relationship with Her 5-Year-Old Daughter: Police

A Michigan doctor is accused of asking an undercover investigator posing as a mother to have a “sexual relationship” with who he believed was her 5-year-old daughter, authorities said.

William J. Murdoch, a family practice doctor, was arrested by members of the U.S. Marshals Service following an undercover child exploitation investigation led by police in Florida, the Port St. Lucie Police Department announced on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

The sting began in June 2025, when police claim Murdoch began chatting online with the undercover “Mom” and began pursuing a “platonic relationship with her to see if she would allow her 5-year-old to be courted by and have a sexual relationship with him,” per a police statement.

Police claimed Murdoch exchanged “stomach churning messages” that allegedly showed “his plan to groom the child and quickly turn the situation sexual.”

Also during the investigation, police examined Murdoch’s iCloud account, where they allegedly found “explicit” information “revealing his training as a medical professional would assist in other alarming dark web hunts,” the statement reads.

Police claimed the conversations included several topics including “conception, full term abortions, and intentional drug and alcohol use to cause birth defects.”

Murdoch will be extradited to Florida to face charges in connection with “soliciting a parent to consent to the participation of sexual conduct involving a child,” police said. Online inmate records show the 45-year-old was booked into the Monroe County Jail in Michigan with no bond. It’s unclear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

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A company spokesperson for ProMedica, a healthcare company, commented on Murdoch’s arrest, saying it “triggered an immediate suspension of Dr. Murdoch’s hospital privileges and a termination of all activity involving the physician,” according to CBS News.

“We are supporting investigation efforts in this case,” the spokesperson added, per the outlet. “Our priority is the safety and care of our patients and their families.”