GILROY
– Whether it’s back to his medical practice or off to a jail
cell, the fate of the Kaiser Gilroy doctor accused of sexually
assaulting six of his female patients during pelvic exams now rests
with the decision of eight men and four women from throughout the
county.
The jury is deliberating whether Dr. Raul Ixtlahuac exploited
his position of trust to take advantage of women for his own sexual
pleasure or if the devoted and popular family physician has himself
become a victim to the allegations of six agitated and confused
women who mistook their uncomfortable pelvic exams for
assaults.
GILROY – Whether it’s back to his medical practice or off to a jail cell, the fate of the Kaiser Gilroy doctor accused of sexually assaulting six of his female patients during pelvic exams now rests with the decision of eight men and four women from throughout the county.
The jury is deliberating whether Dr. Raul Ixtlahuac exploited his position of trust to take advantage of women for his own sexual pleasure or if the devoted and popular family physician has himself become a victim to the allegations of six agitated and confused women who mistook their uncomfortable pelvic exams for assaults.
“This isn’t easy,” Deputy District Attorney Chuck Gillingham told the jury Tuesday during closing arguments in the two-week trial as emotional family, friends and supporters of Ixtlahuac along with family members of the alleged victims filled the courtroom at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
“You have to decide if the defendant is the monster who did the things these six women have all testified under oath to, or if you don’t believe these women,” Gillingham said. “There’s no middle ground here. … I ask you to give a voice to those six women and tell them you believe them.”
Ixtlahuac, 41, is facing up to 14 years in prison for four counts of alleged felony penetration with a foreign object and two counts of alleged felony sexual battery between the fall of 2000 and spring of 2001 at Kaiser Permanente, 7520 Arroyo Circle. Ixtlahuac has pled not guilty to the charges.
During closing arguments, Ixtlahuac’s Defense Attorney Doron Weinberg passionately professed to Ixtlahuac’s innocence, reiterating the testimony of several of the doctor’s former patients and colleagues who testified on his behalf and highlighting the logistical impossibilities of the doctor assaulting the women in the manner they described.
“He wouldn’t have done any of these things, he couldn’t have done these things.” Weinberg said to the jury. “Why would any man want to put their penis in a vagina for three to four seconds, or minutes as (one victim) said, and just let it sit there? Is this sexually gratifying? I urge you to use your common sense.”
Weinberg also highlighted that of the four alleged victims who testified that Ixtlahuac had penetrated them, one was experiencing severe vaginal discharge from a possible sexually transmitted disease at the time of her alleged assault, one was severely swollen in the vaginal area due to a previous allergic reaction and one was eight months pregnant and being examined by the doctor for a possible breached baby.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Weinberg said. “I don’t know if any of these women are lying – they felt things they thought were “weird” and unbelievable at the time – but you can believe these women and still find Dr. Ixtlahuac innocent.”
Weinberg said due to the complicated conditions and uncomfortable examinations, many of the women simply let their imaginations build to the point where they started to believe they were assaulted after going through police interviews and reading newspaper reports following Ixtlahuac’s May 2001 arrest. Four of the alleged victims did not come forward until after Ixtlahuac’s arrest.
During the examinations, the women were separated from the doctor by a large drape hanging over their abdomen which obstructed their view of him.
“You can’t pat them on the head and say, ‘you’re just hysterical, you’re just female,’ and move on,” Gillingham said. “To suggest that you have to report it right away for it to be true – that’s ridiculous; it’s 2003.”
Throughout the trial, four alleged victims of Ixtlahuac’s testified the doctor penetrated them with his penis during pelvic examinations, and two woman claimed he rubbed them in a sexual manner with his fingers. Each of the victims – ages 25 to 42 – have filed a civil suit against Ixtlahuac and most have done the same against Kaiser.
One of the alleged victims had also testified earlier in the trial that she found a condom in the trash after her exam, and a nurse summoned by the woman also testified to seeing the condom. But the defense says it was a latex glove.
On Tuesday the defense continued to argue that it would’ve been physically impossible for Ixtlahuac to penetrate the women while they were in stirrups on the exam table due to the height of the table, the doctor’s height, his erect penis size and the angles involved.
“It can be done,” Gillingham said, disputing Weinberg’s claims that Ixtlahuac could not have penetrated the women because the table is too tall.
Ixtlahuac practiced as a family physician at Gilroy’s Kaiser Permanente facility for 12 years prior to his arrest and during his testimony he denied improperly touching any of the patients.
Since his arrest, Ixtlahuac has been free on a $250,000 bond and placed on administrative leave from Kaiser. His medical license also has been suspended pending the outcome of the trial.
On Tuesday, Ixtlahuac arrived in San Jose with his wife, mother and other family members. Several of his former female patients also attended the hearing to support the doctor.
Ixtlahuac lives in Salinas and received his medical degree from the University of Washington; his residency was completed at Stanford University. He is a native of Southern California.
