Woman stands by allegations of abuse against ex-Tampa Bay Rays doctor

ST. PETERSBURG (FL)
Tampa Bay Times

January 31, 2018

By Colleen Wright

Brianna Holzerland said she stands by her allegations that she was subjected to inappropriate behavior and sexual abuse nearly a decade ago by former Tampa Bay Rays physician Michael Reilly.

Holzerland, 26, said it happened while she worked as a teenager at the doctor’s office. Reilly, who has denied the allegations, was fired by the Rays on Tuesday after executives saw the 10-minute YouTube video she posted online.

She released this statement Wednesday to the Tampa Bay Times:

“I stand with the facts stated in my original video which took several years for me to verbalize. As I stated in my video if I can help one person that may be in a position that I was in several years ago then that is enough.”

The video led St. Petersburg police to launch an investigation. Reilly also resigned from a similar medical position at St. Petersburg Catholic High School.

In a statement made through his attorney, Reilly has denied the allegations and said he was engaged in a consensual relationship with her when she was an adult.

In the video, Holzerland said that she was 16 when she started working at Reilly’s office and that he would “put his hand on my hand,” and “put his hand on my shoulder and lightly rub my back.”

She said she quit “shortly after I noticed he was touching me in exam rooms.” She said Reilly invited her to return to work eight months later and “the same thing started happening, and this time it did progress.”

Eventually she said she became “numb” to being touched inappropriately as it “progressively got worse and worse.” The doctor tried to get her alone, she said, and would “shut the door and try and kiss me.” She said her experiences left her suffering from anxiety attacks and dealing with other issues.

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