An Austin doctor accused of sexual abuse by 17 women had his license revoked last month only after a male patient accused him of similar misconduct.

The Texas Medical Board revoked neurologist Philip Leonard's medical license June 15, ordering him to stop practicing medicine immediately, according to board documents.

Leonard was one of several doctors highlighted in a 2016 Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation into doctors who have been accused of sexually abusing patients.

In 2003, Leonard's medical license was temporarily suspended when allegations surfaced that he had improper sexual contact with female patients, Texas Medical Board documents show.

Patients alleged Leonard had rubbed his erect penis on them or grabbed their breasts during visits. One said he put his hand down her underwear and tried to fondle her, a document shows.

Some women reported the allegations to police, and Leonard was eventually tried on a charge of engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior toward a patient, the Journal-Constitution reported. He was acquitted.

After his acquittal, the board put a restriction on his license for 10 years that prohibited him from seeing female patients but did not revoke his license.

Cathryn Blue, one of the women who accused Leonard of sexual misconduct, was angry the board didn't revoke his license sooner, she told the Journal-Constitution.

"The board should have stepped up earlier," Blue said. "They had a responsibility to protect the public. When so many women come forward, how can you not see a problem?"

The new case against Leonard centered on one patient at his private neurology clinic in Austin who said Leonard had "violated sexual boundaries" with him on multiple occasions, over-prescribed opioid painkillers and didn't keep accurate medical records.

Documents from the board show that Leonard had been treating that patient for chronic pain as a result of a back injury sustained in a car accident, as well as other conditions such as depression and insomnia.

The patient filed a complaint with the board twice in 2015, the Journal-Constitution reported, accusing Leonard of inappropriately touching his genitals during visits starting in 2014.

The board then lodged a complaint with Leonard in 2016, after the publication of the Journal-Constitution investigation, the newspaper reported.

Since the board's decision to revoke his license, Leonard filed a motion with the board for a rehearing July 9, records show.