A former physician at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Decatur was found guilty Tuesday on charges related to groping a female patient during exam visits.
Dr. Rajesh Motibhai Patel, 69, was convicted by a jury of violating a patient’s constitutional right to bodily integrity while acting under color of law, and for engaging in unwanted sexual contact.
Four female patients accused Patel of sexually assaulting them by improperly touching their vaginal areas and groping their breasts during routine examinations between 2019 and 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Justice in a press release. He was indicted in May 2023, with the VA removing him from patient care and reassigning him to a role with no patient interaction.
The Lilburn resident was acquitted of charges related to three victims, but was convicted of the charges relating to the fourth patient, who remains anonymous.
“Dr. Patel violated the cardinal rule of a physician to do no harm to patients under his care,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan in the Wednesday press release. “Veterans who consulted him for treatment, like the victim in this case, trusted Dr. Patel and he violated that trust.”
