Physical therapist made patients feel ‘safe,’ then sexually abused them, CA suit says
Upon starting physical therapy following a recent move, a California woman said she felt “safe” with her new physical therapist.
The two built up a professional relationship during their first session in May 2022, and the woman said she knew people who had worked with him. During the second session in a private room, however, he went on to sexually assault the woman as she lay partially clothed on a massage table, according to a lawsuit filed Oct. 17 in Tuolumne County.
“I was, like, questioning my intuition about what I had just experienced. Like, there’s no way someone that knows these people would do something like this, knowing that I know them,” the Sonora woman, known in the lawsuit as Jane Doe 2, told McClatchy News in an interview.
McClatchy News spoke with Jane Doe 2 on the condition of anonymity.
Jane Doe 2 is one of seven former patients suing the physical therapist and two of his employers, Adventist Health and Sonora Physical Therapy. Court documents accuse the physical therapist of sexual assault and say the employers failed to report the women’s experiences to authorities.
McClatchy News is not naming the physical therapist because he has not been charged with a crime.
In response to requests for comment about the lawsuit, Adventist Health said, “The employee was terminated and reported to the California Department of Public Health. We take this matter very seriously and remain committed to providing exceptional care.”
McClatchy News reached Sonora Physical Therapy and did not immediately receive a response. The physical therapist’s attorney information could not be found.
The first report
Reports of sexual abuse by the physical therapist began in 2007.
In a private room at an Adventist Health physical therapy location in Sonora, he told a woman that a massage would yield the best results if she was unclothed, according to the lawsuit, and he told her he would cover her body with a sheet.
During the treatment, he removed the sheet and sexually assaulted her, according to the lawsuit. Jane Doe 1 froze as it happened, saying she couldn’t move, according to the lawsuit.
“Face down, she cried silently into the massage table while (he) continued abusing her,” the lawsuit said.
On her way out of the office, she approached the person at the front desk.
“I’m not coming back. (The physical therapist) should not be working here. He’s a pervert,” she said, according to the lawsuit. The complaint says no one followed up with her after she left the office.
“I mean the fact that our Doe 1 reported (the assault) to five people in 2007. Then (he) goes on to assault untold numbers, but we know at least nine more women … ” attorney Erin Reding, one of the attorneys with Lewis & Llewellyn representing the seven women, said. “It really is truly shocking to me.”
Targeting more patients
Reding says there are 10 known victims, but she believes there are more.
The lawsuit details the stories of seven patients who said they were sexually assaulted during “vulnerable” moments in physical therapy.
Jane Doe 2 said she had to go through several channels to report the abuse.
“I told (a receptionist) that the way he touched me made me feel uncomfortable, and she was helpful in getting me moved to a different physical therapy office with a female therapist, but that was it,” Jane Doe 2 told McClatchy News.
Then, she told her new physical therapist.
“When she asked why I had switched, I told her that the other previous therapist had put his hand up my shorts, and she just didn’t even acknowledge that I said it,” she said. “She, like, kept writing down her notes, and I also told my primary care physician at the time, and she was sort of empathetic, but, like, I don’t think anything was done.”
Eventually, her friend, who was an employee at Adventist Health, helped Jane Doe 2 get connected with patient advocacy.
“It shouldn’t have required (Jane Doe 2) to find the number and her friend,” Reding said, adding it should have been reported by the staff Jane Doe 2 told.
Declining health
As Jane Doe 2 pursued different avenues to make reports, she said she internally struggled to seek medical help.
She saw a mental health professional, but feared going to see a doctor or physical therapist.
“I don’t think that I saw another doctor or medical care provider other than my mental health therapist for almost two years, because just being in a medical office led to pretty intense anxiety,” she said. “So, my health plummeted.”
The other women involved in the lawsuit now “feel worthless and undeserving of loving relationships, severely hindering their ability to connect with other people,” according to the lawsuit. All seven former patients have shown symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, the complaint said.
After the initial reports
The physical therapist was eventually fired from Adventist Health, according to the lawsuit, and later hired by Sonora Physical Therapy.
When Jane Doe 2 found out he had been hired by another office after she had reported him to the state and Adventist Health, she said it was difficult for her to grapple with.
“Just knowing that he had no consequence while my life felt like it was falling apart was a really difficult thing to manage mentally,” she said.
The Board of Physical Therapists conducted an investigation, but Jane Doe 2 said the Board of Physical Therapists moved too slow and “the (district attorney) in Sonora could no longer pursue anything criminally,” Jane Doe 2 said.
McClatchy News reached out to the California Board of Physical Therapists and the Tuolumne County District Attorney about the investigation, but did not immediately receive a response.
As of Oct. 28, the man’s physical therapy license is still active. Jane Doe 2 hopes this lawsuit will help change that.
“I hope that (he) is never allowed to practice again,” she said. “I would hope that it also invites more women to come forward that he has assaulted to sort of reclaim their power and heal.”
The lawsuit also seeks a court trial and an undetermined amount in damages.
Sonora is about a 95-mile drive southeast from Sacramento.
This story was originally published October 28, 2024 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Physical therapist made patients feel ‘safe,’ then sexually abused them, CA suit says."
