ACCUSED DOC A California ENT surgeon has been charged with 26 felony counts pertaining to allegations of sexual assault.

An ENT surgeon who was charged last year with sexually assaulting at least 5 women is now facing several civil lawsuits from some of his alleged victims who claim that the doctor inappropriately touched, assaulted or raped them, court records show.

The women claim in court records that John Francis McGuire, MD, from Carlsbad, Calif., assaulted them while they underwent medical care. Dr. McGuire was charged last year with 26 felony counts pertaining to the accusations, including 3 counts of rape by force or fear, 6 counts of sexual battery involving a restraint and 3 counts of sexual battery. He has pled not guilty to the charges and remains in jail with bail set at $3 million.

The most recent civil lawsuit comes from a woman known only as Jane Roe No. 5. In it, she alleges that Dr. McGuire assaulted her while she was under general anesthesia for a thyroidectomy last April. Her suit follows those of 4 other alleged victims who claim Dr. McGuire sexually harassed or assaulted them.

According to court documents, Jane Roe No. 5 says that after the procedure, she went to the bathroom and discovered evidence that she was sexually assaulted. Following that discovery, she claims that Dr. McGuire came into her room while she was recovering and touched her vaginal area several times, claiming that he was inspecting a rash.

She eventually went to the police to report the incident, which kicked off the investigation into Dr. McGuire. Police later found that at least 4 other women had claimed to be harassed or assaulted while undergoing his medical care. Dr. McGuire was subsequently arrested last August and has remained in jail since.

Dr. McGuire's medical license was suspended last September, state records show. He resigned his privileges from the Temecula Valley Hospital last June, where some of the assaults allegedly took place. The hospital, along with its Pennsylvania-based owner United Health Services, is also named as a defendant in Jane Roe No. 5's complaint.

In published reports, hospital officials note that Dr. McGuire has not worked at the hospital since June of last year and that that they were cooperating with the investigation. Hospital representatives did not respond to Outpatient Surgery's requests for comment.

The attorney representing the women in their civil suits, John Mittelman of Temecula, Calif., told Outpatient Surgery that the cases depict a 2-and-a-half to 3-year "sexual rampage" committed by Dr. McGuire, and that there are likely more victims out there. He also says that the facilities where the assaults allegedly occurred should have done more to prevent the attacks.

"To me, it's virtually inconceivable that someone didn't know that something was going on," he says. "The hospitals are supposed to have policies and procedures in place that protect helpless male and female patients while they're under the effects of anesthesia or other pain medications as they come out of surgery. Once everything shakes out, I think we'll find that somebody knew something, they knew it for a long time and they didn't do enough to stop it."

An representative for Dr. McGuire did not return requests for comment. Both the civil and criminal cases are ongoing.

Kendal Gapinski