NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A dozen additional victims have told police they were victimized by a medical assistant who falsely said he was nurse when they sought treatment in recent months at an urgent care facility outside Philadelphia, police said in filing new sexual assault charges.
Ramon Garcia, 33, was accused on Thursday of two counts of aggravated indecent assault, multiple counts of indecent assault and invasion of privacy, as well as impersonating a nurse, harassment and other offenses. The alleged crimes took place at Carbon Health urgent care facilities in Montgomery County, police said.
“This defendant, who was not a nurse, took advantage of the trust that patients extend to true medical professionals by assaulting and violating them,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement released Friday.
Garcia had been charged a month ago with indecent assault of two victims. Authorities said that a day after those charges were announced, more women came forward.
Garcia, a resident of Philadelphia, was in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eagleville on Friday with bail set at nearly $250,000.
“We still maintain his innocence, and we will litigate this where it should be litigated, in court,” his defense attorney, Paul Gregory Lang, said in a phone interview Friday.
A police affidavit used to file the new set of 24 charges accused Garcia of staying with a woman seeking treatment as she undressed, then photographing and manually examining her breasts and asking if she was in a relationship.
Another woman told police Garcia placed her hand on his crotch while drawing blood, and placed her hand back after she moved it away. He is also accused of performing pelvic exams. After some of the encounters, he made overtures to some of the victims, including asking for dates and giving them his phone number, police said.
Carbon Health issued a statement on Friday calling the allegations shocking and disclosing that Garcia is no longer employed there.
“We have conducted a thorough internal investigation and are consulting with an external investigator on this matter. Carbon Health is dedicated to maintaining a safe environment at all of our facilities and we are continuing to fully cooperate with law enforcement and other relevant authorities in their investigation,” the company’s statement said.
