A west central Minnesota physician, who was originally charged earlier this spring, is now facing seven felony counts of criminal sexual conduct by falsely representing a medical purpose.

Dr. Mark Wendell Eakes, 58, of Granite Falls, is accused of performing unnecessary pelvic, rectal or breast examinations of four patients who saw him between October 2019 and September 2021 at Avera Granite Falls Health Center in Granite Falls.

Eakes appeared this week in Yellow Medicine County District Court on the seven charges in the most recent criminal complaint.

He remains free on his own recognizance with a number of conditions.