Attorney: Woman knew husband’s sperm not used

Kim Smith

Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001 | 10:40 a.m.

The defense attorney for an 88-year-old fertility doctor being sued for fathering two children through artificial insemination in the 1970s told jurors Wednesday the children's mother knew from the start her husband was not their father.

Wednesday was the first day in the civil trial of Dr. Quincy Fortier, a retired Las Vegas doctor accused of secretly using his own sperm to twice impregnate Mary Craddock.

Craddock claims that she did not know until the mid-1990s that the two children she gave birth to 20 years earlier were not fathered by her former husband.

Craddock and her former husband, Charles, went to Fortier after trying unsuccessfully to have children for five years. Within a few years, Craddock gave birth to a daughter and a son.

Craddock claims that although Fortier initially told her he would use a mixture of biological materials from her husband and a donor, he later said only her husband's sperm was used.

Fortier's attorney, Thomas Pitaro, told jurors during opening statements Wednesday that Craddock was fully aware a mixture was used.

In fact, Pitaro said, even Craddock's former husband will testify he always knew the children were not his. He will testify Fortier was up front about the mixture, Pitaro said.

Craddock's attorney, John Riggs, told jurors the case is about trust and a doctor's betrayal.

Craddock has suffered great emotional trauma, Riggs said. Not only did she learn her children were not fathered by her former husband, but she has been accused of being a "gold-digger" and of having an affair with Fortier.

Had Craddock known there was a chance Charles Craddock would not be the father, Riggs said she would never have gone through with the procedure.

Pitaro told jurors, however, that Craddock had undergone three unsuccessful procedures in Florida before she met Fortier. She knew the procedures performed by Fortier were the same kind, he said.

Craddock suffered mental problems long before she knew her children were fathered by Fortier, Pitaro said. She even spent time in a psychiatric hospital in 1991 -- three years before she learned the truth.

Pitaro portrayed Craddock as a mentally unstable woman who wants to take advantage of Fortier.

"The evidence will show that Mary Craddock wants money," Pitaro said. "That's what this case is about."

After Fortier told Craddock's daughter he was her father in 1994, Pitaro said Craddock offered to remain silent if he signed a condominium over to her.

"He did not harm Mary Craddock. He did not injure Mary Craddock. He did what no other doctor did. He gave Mary Craddock and Charles Craddock two children," Pitaro said.

The trial is being heard by District Judge Lee Gates and a jury panel made up of six women and four men. Two of the 10 are alternates.