A former Pendleton chiropractor was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Hermiston for seven charges of sexual abuse.

Terry Womack and his attorney, Michael Breiling, appeared in court at the Stafford Hansell Government Center to make his plea and set a date for a pre-trial hearing. Speaking to Judge Garry Reynolds, Breiling waived a hearing of the charges and asked to defer the plea until the pre-trial hearing that will take place Jan. 7.

Judge Reynolds agreed Womack could defer his plea, but didn’t want to wait until January. Instead, Womack will enter a plea Dec. 10.

Womack is charged with seven acts of sexual abuse that allegedly took place in his examination rooms.

The indictment lists descriptions of seven incidents involving four different women. Six counts, all Class A misdemeanors, involve alleged intimate touching of three of the women during chiropractic adjustments. The last count, a Class C felony, alleges more serious touching. Another woman accused Womack of guiding her to touch his groin area.

All the incidents allegedly happened within a three-year period.

In August 2006, Womack lost his license after the Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners considered evidence of inappropriate touching of 11 female patients over a period of 15 years.

Womack was disciplined earlier when patients made similar allegations in 1992. The OBCE suspended Womack and put him on probation for five years.

At the conclusion of the OBCE hearing, Administrative Law Judge Rick Barber recommended Womack’s license be revoked and he pay investigative, general attorney, expert witness and other costs at a total of $43,503.

Womack continues to reside in Pendleton.