Former UCLA Doctor Facing 20 Felony Counts For Allegedly Assaulting 7 Patients
On Monday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office announced that Dr. James Heaps, a former UCLA Doctor facing felony counts, is now facing 20 charges for allegedly sexually assaulting seven patients between 2011 and 2018. However, the accused has pleaded not guilty to the new charges filed against him. He was taken back into custody and was ordered to return to court on Sept. 15. The court will then set a date for a preliminary hearing. Additionally, bail was set at $650,000.
Dr. James Heaps, a 63-year-old obstetrician-gynecologist from Woodland Hills, faced charges involving two former victims.
Just last year, Dr. James Heaps was charged with two counts of sexual battery by fraud and one count of sexual exploitation of his patients, pleading not guilty. However, criminal complaints have been amended. This includes eight additional counts of sexual battery by fraud, two other counts of sexual exploitation, and also seven counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person through fraudulent representation.
He’s facing a possible sentence of more than 67 years in prison if convicted of all these charges mentioned above.
According to UCLA, the accused worked part-time from 1983 to 2013 at the UCLA student health center before being fully hired in 2014. He’s facing multiple lawsuits by women who claimed he sexually assaulted them repeatedly under the pretense of performing medical treatments. Two lawsuits were filed separately in LA Supreme Court last year in July on behalf of 9 women. 3 of which were UCLA students at the time, and the other six were non-student at the UCLA Medical Center. These women alleged Dr. Heaps of abuse by fondling and groping their breasts and touching their privates inappropriately and groping under the pretense of conducting medical examinations during visits from 1989 to 2017.
There was an earlier lawsuit against the Heaps and the University of California Board of Regents by a cancer patient who was 44 years old at the time. The patient alleged that during four visits, which ended in July 2017, the doctor touched the undisclosed plaintiff’s breast, sequenced her nipple, and inappropriately touched her private part under the pretense of medical examination.
The San Diego Workplace Sexual Harassment Lawyer supported that statement when announcing the lawsuit, about 22 other women stepped forward with allegations against Heaps. In response to the criminal case filed in 2019, the UCLA issued statements from both Chancellor Gene Block and Vice-Chancellor John Mazziotta expressed his profound sadness over this pathetic incident. After Heaps was investigated and removed from UCLA’s clinical practice, he announced his retirement and reported to law enforcement. If you find your self in need of legal services be sure to find the right lawyer for your situation.
