A federal judge in Detroit has dismissed one charge against two doctors in connection with a female genital mutilation case.
U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled 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. Both doctors still face other charges.
The government is accusing Nagarwala of conducting the procedure on girls at Attar's clinic with his approval in Livonia, just west of Detroit.
Nagarwala denies any crime and says she performed a religious custom on girls from her Muslim sect, the India-based Dawoodi Bohra.
Two Minnesota mothers also have been charged after taking their daughters to the clinic.
