SAN JOSE
– Two women who took the witness stand Wednesday said Gilroy
Kaiser Permanente doctor Raul Ixtlahuac betrayed their trust when
he allegedly penetrated them with his penis during pelvic
examinations.
SAN JOSE – Two women who took the witness stand Wednesday said Gilroy Kaiser Permanente doctor Raul Ixtlahuac betrayed their trust when he allegedly penetrated them with his penis during pelvic examinations.
Throughout the often emotional testimonies, both women were repeatedly asked why they did not report their assaults immediately – one woman waited almost three days and the other didn’t come forward until contacted by police months later; both said they were scared of the consequences.
One of the women, who was six-months pregnant at the time of her alleged assault, returned to be examined by Ixtlahuac at least once after the alleged August 2000 assault.
“I was trying to figure out what kind of instrument he was using,” said Stacee, a 31-year-old from Hollister who said she was sexually penetrated by Ixtlahuac in September 2000. “I thought it might be a new instrument, but I knew … I didn’t want to think it was anything else.” Witnesses in the case are only using their first names when on the stand.
If convicted, Ixtlahuac (IXHT-la-wahk), 41, could face up to 14 years in jail for four counts of alleged felony penetration with a foreign object and two counts of alleged felony sexual battery. Ixtlahuac, who had worked as a family practitioner at Kaiser for 12 years prior to the incidents, has plead not guilty to all charges.
Both women who took the stand Wednesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court said they had been receiving pelvic examinations from doctors all their lives – many of whom were male – but their time with Ixtlahuac was different.
Ixtlahuac’s defense attorney Doron Weinberg questioned the womens’ delayed reaction in reporting the assaults.
“Is it true that the reason you didn’t tell anyone was because you weren’t sure?” Weinberg said to Stacee, who was assaulted Friday afternoon but didn’t report the incident to the police until late Sunday night.
“I wanted to make sure,” said Stacee, who had tears flowing down her face through most of her three-hour long testimony. “I thought ‘why would somebody who spent so much time in school do something like this?’ I did not want to be sure – I didn’t want something like this to happen to me.”
During the examination Stacee was laying on her back and separated from the doctor by a drape over her abdomen; there was no nurse present in the room. This made it hard for her to be sure that she had been penetrated, she said.
Both women also said they felt the doctor’s coat and pants rubbing against their inner-thighs – something they had never felt in such an examination before. Following the brief penetration the doctor would keep his back turned to the patients and avoid conversation, both witnesses said.
Stacee was the first of six alleged victims to report her alleged assault to the police in September 2000. These women will testify that Ixtlahuac sexually assaulted them between September 2000 and May 2001 – all six women have also filed civil suits against Ixtlahuac and many have done the same against Kaiser.
A 26-year-old woman testified Tuesday that she was penetrated by Ixtlahuac during an examination and then found a condom in the trash can; a medical assistant at the Kaiser facility at 7520 Arroyo Circle who was immediately summoned by the alleged victim also testified to seeing the condom.
Ixtlahuac continued to practice at Kaiser until his arrest eight months later.
“I know what I felt,” said Evelyn, 36, also from Hollister. “But I didn’t see it, so it’s hard. You don’t want to ruin somebody’s life.”
Ixtlahuac was Evelyn’s primary care doctor at Kaiser and she’d had pelvic exams by him several times prior to the August 2000 incident she said. Evelyn also returned to see Ixtlahuac at least one time in April 2001 to have him check for a possible ovarian cyst, she said. Following that visit she switched primary care doctors.
She did not report what happened to her until she was contacted by the Gilroy Police Department on April 27, 2000.
Weinberg questioned Evelyn about the possible $300,000 settlement she could receive from her civil lawsuits against Ixtlahuac and Kaiser.
“Why did you sue?” he asked.
“Over the years I’ve given Kaiser a large portion of my money for health insurance,” said Evelyn, beginning to cry for the first time on the stand. “Now I’m very angry to be betrayed like this.”
Ixtlahuac was arrested in May 2001 for the alleged assaults. He has since been free on a $250,000 bond and placed on unpaid administrative leave from Kaiser.
His medical license also has been suspended pending the outcome of the trial.
On Wednesday Ixtlahuac arrived at the Hall of Justice in San Jose with his wife, and he was dressed in a blue suit and tie. Ixtlahuac’s wife sat behind him during the trial and they conversed during the recesses.
Several family members of the alleged victims, who were all between the ages of 25 and 40 at the time of the alleged assaults, also attended the trial Wednesday.
The doctor lives in Salinas and received his medical degree from the University of Washington while doing his residency at Stanford University. He is a native of Southern California.
