Former urologist Zvi Levran, 68, entered a no contest plea to more than two dozen sexual abuse charges in Oakland County Circuit Court. March 18, 2025. Photo by Anna Liz Nichols.
After several former youth hockey players came forward with the sexual abuse they endured by Metro Detroit urologist Zvi Levran, 68, he entered a “no contest” plea Tuesday and will not dispute the 28 criminal charges related to the abuse.
For more than two decades since the early 2000’s, Levran performed multiple roles within youth hockey in the Metro Detroit area from coaching to team doctor. He held roles with multiple school teams including Novi High School, the Farmington United Hockey team and St. Mary’s Preparatory High School in West Bloomfield Township.
Of the 28 charges, 24 were for criminal sexual conduct. He also pleaded no contest to two counts of child sexually abusive material, and two counts of child sexually abusive activity.
The reports of sexual violence by Levran came to light in late 2022 after a 19-year-old contacted the Farmington Hills Police Department saying Levran had sexually assaulted him in October of 2022 in Levran’s home office in Farmington Hills.
Witnesses, mostly male former athletes, testified in 2023 that Levran had a reputation for being a bit eccentric, but seemed to be an encouraging and present adult in their lives who would host open skates, provide free medical care to high schoolers and lead yoga sessions at his house.
Many of the victims reported that the abuse surprised them and they didn’t know what to do as it was happening. The intial 19-year-old hockey player who told police testified that he went to Levran’s house for a sports physical for school, but the appointment devolved into sexual abuse that left him in frozen in his body
“I was laying on my back waiting for it to be over. … I didn’t want to look at him,” the witness said.
Another victim who Levran knew had been struggling with his performance in hockey told the court Levran was a confidant and an ally in the game. The man shared that Levran had encouraged him to go to the open skates and yoga sessions he hosted and he would tell the man’s coaches that he was improving.
But then at one yoga sessions, the man said Levran groped him.
“I kind of looked up to him. I trusted him to vouch for me,” the witness said. “He was an adult. I was 14,” the victim said.
People trust doctors, especially young people, Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Rob VanWert told the judge overseeing the case in the Farmington Hills District Court in July of 2023. The victims were at an express disadvantage, VanWert added, with many of their interactions with Levran starting when they were in high school as Levran painted himself as a friend to them.
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After about two years of court proceedings where Levran had entered a not guilty plea, he entered the no contest plea on Tuesday, appearing in court with two black eyes and stitches on his brow bone.
Levran’s lawyer, Jonathan Jones, said Levran had a physical altercation with a person in his cell at the Oakland County Jail where Levran has been incarcerated since the start of the criminal case.
When asked after court why Levran changed his plea, Jones said the defense “figured this was the best alternative” to what would have been an “incredibly long trial” that would have led to “much more exposure” had Levran been convicted.
When the investigation was announced to the public in November of 2022 Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and local police fervently encouraged the public to contact investigators, as the access Levran had to athletes for years was cause to believe that there could be many victims.
Early on, the Farmington Hills Police chief said tips in the investigation had come from all over the country as Levran held medical licenses in Michigan, Minnesota, Georgia, Ohio and Iowa.
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The no contest plea prevents the need for a trial and Levran is scheduled for sentencing in Oakland County Circuit Court on April 29. Avoiding putting the victims through the experience of rehashing the abuse in trial is win for the victims, McDonald said in a statement after court Tuesday.
“This guilty plea holds Zvi Levran accountable for his crimes and provides justice for his victims,”McDonald said. “Today’s outcome ensures Levran’s victims will not be re-traumatized by the burden of testifying at trial. It also spares them any further uncertainty about the outcome of this case. The victims were heard, and their stories were believed. Zvi Levran is guilty.”
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