Interim Consent Order

TRENTON – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs (“Division”) announced today that the State Board of Medical Examiners (“Board”) has secured the voluntary license surrender of a Monmouth County physician indicted on criminal charges related to his alleged longtime sexual abuse of a minor.

Cornelius Gallagher, a pulmonologist previously affiliated with three hospitals across Monmouth County, was indicted in July 2024 on two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, two counts of second-degree sexual assault, and one count of third-degree child endangerment (possession of child pornography). According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the charges are not connected with Gallagher’s interactions with any patient.

Wall Township Police arrested Gallagher in July 2023, after an investigation allegedly revealed he began sexually abusing a minor in 2004, when the victim was under the age of 13, and continued the abuse for more than a decade.

Gallagher is currently on leave from all hospitals he was previously affiliated with and has represented through counsel that he is not currently practicing medicine. In a Consent Order filed with the Board the week, Gallagher agreed to voluntarily surrender his medical license pending the resolution of the criminal matter and until further order of the Board.

“The sexual exploitation of a child, as is alleged here, is one of the most heinous crimes that can be committed. When a physician is facing these types of charges, the action taken by the Board is not only appropriate, but necessary,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Until these charges are resolved, public protection demands that he remain out of practice and have no contact with patients.”

“The alleged conduct of this doctor, if proven, would demonstrate a callous victimization of a vulnerable child that violates the most basic standards to which we hold medical professionals,” said Cari Fais, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “We thank the Board for securing the surrender of this doctor’s license in the face of these criminal charges.”

The Interim Consent Order, filed on September 9, 2024, requires Gallagher to cease and desist from all patient contact and from rendering medical care in this state, including dispensing or issuing prescriptions for medications of any type. He is barred from entering the premises of his medical practice during business hours when patients may be present and is precluded from managing, overseeing, supervising, or influencing the practice of medicine or provision of healthcare activities in the state, including by testifying as an expert witness or serving as an expert consultant. Gallagher may not charge, receive, or share in any fee for professional services rendered by others, but is permitted to collect accounts receivable with respect to professional services that he rendered prior to the date of the filing of the Interim Consent Order.

Deputy Attorney General Kate Calendar, under the supervision of Professional Boards Prosecution Section Chief Doreen Hafner, within the Division of Law’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group is representing the State in the matter.

Patients who believe they have received medical treatment by an unlicensed or inadequately licensed provider or have been treated by a licensed professional in an inappropriate or unsafe manner can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling 1-800-242-5846 (toll free within New Jersey) or 973-504-6200.