The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners has filed a petition to immediately suspend the medical license of a Trussville physician charged with human trafficking.

Dr. Janaki Earla, 59, was arrested last week in Blount County after authorities say he offered to a 17-year-old patient to be her “Sugar Daddy,” had sexually explicit text conversations and then showed up to meet her at a Days Inn.

When Earla showed up to the motel, however, he was met by law enforcement officers instead and taken into custody on a charge of first-degree human trafficking of a minor.

Earla, a doctor at the Wellness Center in Trussville, remains held in the Blount County Jail.

The Blount County Sheriff’s Office launched the investigation Oct. 5 when the mother of the 17-year-old female contacted investigators. Earla had inappropriately touched the girl during an exam, the mother contended, and then communicated with her via text messages.

Eventually, an undercover investigator took over the teen’s cell phone, pretending to be the teen.

The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners today filed its petition Thursday with the Alabama Medical Licensure Commission.

The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners is the state regulatory and law enforcement agency responsible for regulating the practice of medicine in Alabama. The Medical Licensure Commission is scheduled to meet on Friday in an emergency session to consider the petition and is expected to suspend Dr. Earla’s medical license.

“This is necessary in the interest of patient safety,” said William Perkins, Executive Director of the Board of Medical Examiners. “The Board’s petition will be considered by the Medical Licensure Commission, which adjudicates formal charges brought against physicians and determines the appropriate disciplinary resolution.”