FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Farmington Hills police say they have been "inundated" with calls on their tipline after a local hockey doctor was first arrested and charged with multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct.
Dr. Zvi Levran of Farmington Hills has worked with youth hockey teams for at least two decades, not only in metro Detroit but also in other states. He currently faces 17 total charges.
The tips have come from all over, with victims located in Michigan along with five other states and Canada. Police would not specify how many of the victims were minors at the time of the alleged assaults.
Most recently, Levran served as a volunteer to the Novi High School hockey team. The Novi School Community District says they are working with police during the investigation and say they have since parted ways with their well-respected head hockey coach Mark Vellucci.
“While we appreciate Mark Vellucci’s past contributions to the success of Novi’s hockey program, the District made a decision to move in a different direction with our team leadership. We look forward to the continued success of our student-athletes this season under coach Dominic Lis," the district said in a statement. "The District has and will continue to work with all law enforcement and appropriate legal authorities in the investigation of Zvi Levran, who was a volunteer.”
Levran also previously worked with players for the Farmington United Hockey Team, a combined team for high school players in the Farmington district. The district also released a statement:
"We are aware of the charges that have been brought against Dr. Zvi Levran. We held a meeting with our Farmington United Hockey Team parents to make them aware of the situation and to share resources and supports available to our students if needed.
"At the time the doctor, hired by the booster group to teach yoga, worked with the hockey team, the doctor was in good standing in the medical community. The doctor last worked with the team in 2018/2019.
"The safety of our students is always our number one priority. The doctor never had a formal relationship with the District and was not the team doctor for the Farmington United Hockey Team."
After the initial charges against Levran were announced, a police tipline has received dozens of calls.
“Since this began, we have been inundated with contacts and tips and some really alarming data that makes us concerned about a lot more potential survivors,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said.
Farmington Hills police say they’ve received 33 new tips about potential crimes that span over a decade. Still, they don’t believe it’s over.
“Investigators believe there are likely additional patients who have suffered additional acts of abuse and survived,” Farmington Hills Police Chief Jeff King said.
King says tips have also come from Livonia, West Bloomfield and Redford. Some of the allegations allegedly took place inside his home office in Farmington Hills.
On top of a police investigation, The United States Center for SafeSport is also looking into the doctor, adding him to their online Centralized Disciplinary Database. The database lists Levran as "temporarily suspended."
The center was not able to comment specifically on Levran's investigation.
"The Center has a wide range of sanctions we can levy against people, the most severe being permanent ineligibility," said the Center's Vice President of Response and Resolution Bobby Click. "We can take action against individuals where law enforcement may not be able to because statute of limitations has ran, because it’s outside of their jurisdiction or they don’t think they will reach that beyond a reasonable doubt.”
As of Wednesday, Levran is still in custody facing 17 charges and possibly more as police urge more people with information to come forward.
“Your incident will be investigated with a survivor-focused approach to every aspect of that investigation,” King said.
The Farmington Hills Police Department tipline remains open. You can reach them at 248-871-2610.
You can also directly report to the U.S. Center for SafeSport on its website.
