Judge Dismisses 1 Charge In Female Genital Mutilation Case

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DETROIT (AP) - A federal judge in Detroit has dismissed one of the criminal counts against two doctors charged in connection with a female genital mutilation case.

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman wrote in an opinion Sunday that Dr. Jumana Nagarwala and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar didn't commit conspiracy to transport a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

Friedman wrote that prosecutors haven't contended that any "libidinal gratification" was "sought or obtained" from subjecting the girls to genital mutilation.

The government is accusing Nagarwala of conducting the procedure on girls at a clinic in Livonia, just west of Detroit. She denies any crime and says she performed a religious custom on girls from her Muslim sect, the Dawoodi Bohra.

The government says the alleged acts occurred at Attar's clinic with his approval.