Doctor at VA sexually assaulted veteran during routine exam in Georgia, feds say
After an eight-day trial, a federal jury returned its verdict for a primary care doctor accused of groping four female veterans during routine exams at a VA medical center, according to federal prosecutors.
Rajesh Motibhai Patel, 69, of Lilburn, Georgia, was convicted of two charges relating to one woman, and acquitted of charges relating to the other three patients, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said in a Nov. 7 news release.
The jury found Patel, who worked at the VA center in Decatur, guilty of violating a patient’s constitutional right to bodily integrity while acting under color of law and for engaging in unwanted sexual contact, prosecutors said.
“VA employees are entrusted with keeping our nation’s veterans safe while receiving care. Acts of violence against veterans in VA facilities are reprehensible and shatters that trust,” Michael J. Missal, the inspector general of the VA, said in a statement.
One of Patel’s defense attorneys, Manubir S. Arora, told McClatchy News in an emailed statement on Nov. 7 that “we are very disappointed in the verdict.”
Arora said the “trial was very complicated and took place over two weeks” and that “jury deliberations lasted an additional three and a half days.”
In May 2023, Patel was indicted on several counts in connection with accusations that he sexually assaulted four patients between 2019 and 2020, according to prosecutors.
“He groped their breasts and improperly touched their vaginal area,” prosecutors said.
When Patel was indicted, investigators suspected there were additional patients who might’ve been abused, the U.S Attorney’s Office said in an earlier news release.
In the wake of the accusations against Patel, he was removed from his position at Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 2023, the Marine Corps Times reported.
Patel’s sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 20, according to prosecutors.
“We are weighing our appeal options at this time,” Arora told McClatchy News.
This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Doctor at VA sexually assaulted veteran during routine exam in Georgia, feds say."
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