A New Jersey doctor accused of sexually assaulting his patients was taken into police custody on Dec. 23. Authorities reported that law enforcement officials investigated the case for three months prior to serving the doctor with an arrest warrant.
Reportedly, three patients made allegations that the doctor had had sexual contact with them during examinations. On what charges the doctor was detained and held in custody was not immediately clear. Reportedly, the investigation is ongoing insofar as officials were still searching for other patients who may have additional information pertaining to the alleged criminal misconduct by the doctor.
Being charged with sexual assault or another sex crime can have grave, enduring consequences, not only for convicted individuals but also for those who are not convicted. This is particularly relevant to professionals, whose reputation is essential to their livelihood and whose standing in their community, often acquired after years of hard work, is an invaluable part of their identity. Besides these monumental losses, professionals charged with crimes of this nature may be stripped of their license to work.
This says nothing of the criminal penalties accused individuals must endure upon conviction. They include but are not limited to extensive incarceration, expensive fines and years of probation. When apprised of the gravity of the potential penalties, accused individuals often realize the necessity of seeking out an attorney with a reputable history of defending accused individuals against serious criminal charges. With time and practice, defense attorneys often develop strategies to identify and highlight specious evidence, signs of police misconduct, instances of rights violations and the various faults that exist in weak criminal cases. Any one of these can doom the prosecution's case and absolve the accused individual.
Source: CBS Philly, "NJ doctor accused of having sexual contact with his patients", December 23, 2014