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OREM -- A prominent Orem plastic surgeon is defending himself against police accusations of kidnapping and domestic violence. Doctor Joseph Berg invited us to his Orem Cosmetic Surgery clinic to tell his side of the story. He claims the police got it all wrong.
"It went from taking the cables off her car to where I'm having to physically hold her and try and say, ‘I love you,' and ‘Hey, let's work this out,' in a timid fashion. It had to escalate to prevent it. I didn't want it to escalate. I wanted the police to help out," Dr. Berg said.
Police knocked the door down of his home to find the woman in a closet bound with tape to a dresser. Berg claims his girlfriend of two-and-a-half years had been drinking at his home early Sunday morning. He says he had to restrain her to keep her from driving. "It's turned our lives upside-down, simply because I was trying to prevent her from driving under the influence."
We've all seen stories where things like this happen where the police and the media, I know police sell information to the media. It's a big money maker. It sensationalizes getting the big bust on the famous plastic surgeon.
–-Dr. Berg
Police arrested Berg and he could be facing kidnapping and domestic violence charges.
"I can't imagine I'd be charged. There is nothing there, and there is nobody there. She knows there was nothing there other than me trying to protect her because I love her," he said.
KSL spoke with Berg's girlfriend yesterday, who never mentioned she'd been drinking. Rather, she said the two had been arguing. Berg thought she was cheating and tied her up to keep her from running away.
A day earlier the woman's friend described a much darker relationship. "He's held her at gunpoint before, he's threatened her life," the friend said.
"That's not true at all. I'm sure she got paid by whoever it was, the media, and it was something that just had to do with money," Berg argued.
He suspects police might also have a similar motive. "We've all seen stories where things like this happen where the police and the media, I know police sell information to the media. It's a big money maker. It sensationalizes getting the big bust on the famous plastic surgeon."
As a matter of principle as well as policy, KSL, as a news organization, would never pay for an interview or pay police for information.
We did contact Orem police tonight regarding Berg's allegations that his girlfriend was drinking and he was trying to keep her from driving. Police wouldn't give us any information other than "they are finishing up their investigation and will be handing it over to the county attorney."
Email: lprichard@ksl.com
