Trial starts for former VA doctor accused of child rape

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) _ Trial has started in Spokane in the case of a former doctor for the Veterans Affairs hospital who allegedly sexually abused and made pornographic films with six children.

Craig Morgenstern has been stripped of his medical license and jailed since October 2014.

The Spokesman-Review says the 47-year-old Morgenstern faces decades in prison if convicted in the federal court trial.

Federal prosecutors on Monday told the jury Morgenstern used his position as a doctor to obtain prescription sedatives that he used to drug his victims.

Defense attorney Brian Whitaker asked jurors to review each of the 35 counts individually to see if they meet the government's evidence and procedural threshold. He said not all of the alleged events occurred in Washington.