A Mount Sinai emergency room doctor was charged on Tuesday with groping a 29-year-old patient and touching himself while she was knocked out on morphine. He is also accused of inappropriately touching another woman in a separate incident, according to a criminal complaint.
In the most recent attack, Dr. David H. Newman, 44, allegedly groped the patient in the early morning hours of Jan. 12, just hours after she came in complaining of back pain, according to court records.
Newman was held in lieu of $50,000 cash bail during his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court. An attorney for Newman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Newman allegedly walked into the woman’s private room inside the emergency room of the Upper East Side hospital and told her he was going to give her another dose of morphine. The woman told Newman she had already been given the medicine, but he still gave her more.
The woman told police that as she drifted in and out of consciousness, she saw Newman touching her breasts and touching himself, then wiping her face.
She was aware of what was happening but helpless to stop him, police said.
In a separate incident, Newman was accused of touching a 22-year-old woman’s breasts inside the hospital on Sept. 22.
Newman, of Montclair, N.J., was charged with first-degree sexual abuse, forcible touching, and third-degree sexual abuse.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 23.
“The physician has been suspended from Mount Sinai pending the outcome of the investigation, and we continue to cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities,” a representative for the hospital said in a statement. “He has not provided care to patients at Mount Sinai since the investigation began.
“We take the nature of these allegations very seriously and continue to conduct our own extensive internal inquiry,” the statement said. “The health and safety of our patients are our primary concern. Since this is a police matter, we cannot provide further details. ”
