SAN JOSE
– The last of six alleged victims testified Tuesday that she has
had 30 to 40 pelvic exams in her life before her March 2001 pelvic
exam by a former Gilroy doctor, but that she had never felt
anything
”
as weird and uncomfortable.
”
SAN JOSE – The last of six alleged victims testified Tuesday that she has had 30 to 40 pelvic exams in her life before her March 2001 pelvic exam by a former Gilroy doctor, but that she had never felt anything “as weird and uncomfortable.”
“At first I was shocked and thought it was an accident,” said Lisa, a 33-year-old who lived in Morgan Hill at the time of the exam by Kaiser Permantente’s Dr. Raul Ixtlahuac. “There was a nurse in the room, but she was looking away.”
Lisa, known only by her first name during the trial to protect her anonymity, told the jury of seven men and five women that the doctor “slowly and deliberately” rubbed her vaginal area during the exam. She could not see the doctor during the exam due to a blue drape hanging over her abdomen, but she said she could feel what he was doing with his fingers.
Ixtlahuac’s defense attorney Doron Weinberg asked Lisa why she continued to see Ixtlahuac on at least two more occasions following the first incident if it had been so uncomfortable.
“I was pregnant at the time and I didn’t really have a choice because of my (medical) plan,” said Lisa, who was examined by Ixtlahuac at the Gilroy Kaiser facility at 7520 Arroyo Circle. “I was having a lot of difficulty with Kaiser, and I didn’t want to mess anything up with the baby coming.”
Ixtlahuac, 41, is facing 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 alleged incidents, has plead not guilty to the charges.
Two Gilroy police officers and a Kaiser Permantente administrator also testified before the jury at the county Hall of Justice in San Jose Tuesday, bringing the prosecution’s arguments to a close.
The defense will begin calling witnesses today; Ixtlahuac will take the stand sometime late in the week, Weinberg said.
During Lisa’s testimony on Tuesday, Weinberg questioned her about a civil suit she sought against Kaiser and Ixtlahuac, and she said she had already settled with Kaiser.
Lisa and the other alleged battery victim have both settled lawsuits with Kaiser, and although the amounts of the settlements are unknown, Weinberg said neither is substantial, although civil suits against Ixtlahuac could range between $200,000 and $300,000.
Lisa did not contact authorities regarding her experience with Ixtlahuac until she heard the doctor had been arrested.
“I was so relieved when I heard I wasn’t the only one,” she said.
Prior to Tuesday four other alleged victims of Ixtlahuac’s testified during the trial that the doctor penetrated them with his penis during pelvic examinations between August 2000 and May 2001, and another woman described an experience similar to Lisa’s. Each of the six total alleged victims – ages 25 to 42 – have filed a civil suit against Ixtlahuac and most have done the same against Kaiser.
One of those alleged victims reported finding a used condom in the examination room’s trash can following her examination. A medical assistant at the Kaiser facility who was immediately summoned by the alleged victim following the examination also testified to seeing the condom.
This afternoon Weinberg will call several character witnesses to the stand and a doctor who has taken measurements of Ixtlahuac during an exam.
“We believe the physical evidence will show you have to be either an acrobat or someone of superhuman proportion to do the things they’ve alleged he’s done,” Weinberg said.
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 Thursday, Ixtlahuac arrived at the Hall of Justice with his wife and his mother, and he was dressed in a navy suit and tie. Ixtlahuac’s family sat behind him during the trial with his wife continually rubbing his shoulders and holding his hand during breaks.
The trial is expected to conclude Tuesday.
