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Ex-UCLA gynecologist James Heaps, 65, GUILTY of sex abuse, after string of attacks, including sex with unconscious female patient, faces up to 21 years in jail – College already paid out $700m to victims

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;241e1e&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Los Angeles jury Thursday found former UCLA campus doctor James Heaps guilty of five sex-related counts&comma; while acquitting him on seven<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;241e1e&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong><strong>Ex-UCLA gynecologist<&sol;strong> Heaps&comma; 65&comma; was facing trial on 21-sex-related counts involving seven patients&comma; <strong>included having sex with unconscious female patient<&sol;strong><&sol;strong> <&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;241e1e&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Included in the charges was sexual battery by fraud penetration of an unconscious person by fraudulent representation&comma; along with sexual exploitation of a patient <&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;241e1e&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Mistrial declared for the remaining nine counts after <strong>Jury could not reach verdicts<&sol;strong> those items <&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;241e1e&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Disgraced doctor was ordered into custody&comma; his defense attorney argued unsuccessfully that he should remain free on bail<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;241e1e&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Sentencing is scheduled for Nov 17&comma; when he could be facing up to 21 years in state prison<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-color wp-block-heading" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;241e1e&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Crimes happened while Heaps was employed by UCLA and the college has paid already &dollar;700M restitution to victims <&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>A Los Angeles County jury on Thursday found former UCLA gynecologist James Heaps guilty of sexually abusing female patients during his tenure at the university&period; <br>Dr&period; Heaps&comma; 65&comma; had been charged with 21 felony counts&comma; but was found guilty of only five&colon; three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person&period; <br>The assaults date from 2013 to 2017&comma; the portion of his tenure that falls within the statute of limitations for which criminal charges could be brought&period;<br> Heaps pled not guilty to 21 felony counts in the sexual assaults of seven women between 2009 and 2018&period; He has denied wrongdoing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;10&sol;image-35&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-420270" width&equals;"840" height&equals;"630"&sol;><figcaption><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Instead of upholding the Hippocratic oath&comma; &lbrack;Heaps&rsqb; used his position as a doctor&comma; as a specialist&comma; to sexually assault … incredibly vulnerable women”&colon; Former UCLA campus gynecologist James Heaps was found guilty of five sex-related counts&comma; acquitted him on seven<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The disgraced doctor was found not guilty of seven other counts&comma; including one count of sexual exploitation&period;<br>Judge Michael D&period; Carter declared a mistrial on nine other sex-related counts&comma; saying the jury was hopelessly deadlocked on them&period;<br>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Instead of upholding the Hippocratic oath&comma; &lbrack;Heaps&rsqb; used his position as a doctor&comma; as a specialist&comma; to sexually assault … incredibly vulnerable women&comma;” Assistant Head Deputy Dist&period; Atty&period; Danette Meyers said during the trial&comma; which began August 9&period;<br>The criminal suit against the former gynecologist at the University of California&comma; Los Angeles came after the university system made nearly &dollar;700 million in lawsuit payouts&period;<br>The Los Angeles jury found Dr&period; James Heaps&comma; a longtime UCLA campus gynecologist&comma; not guilty on seven of the 21 counts and were deadlocked on the remaining charges&period;<br>The sex attacker was removed from court in handcuffs after receiving the verdict&period; <br>He will be sentenced on November 17 with a prosecutor saying the guilty verdicts could lead to up to 21 years in state prison&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;10&sol;James-Heaps-2&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-420246" width&equals;"841" height&equals;"615"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Disgraced doctor James Heaps&comma; 65&comma; was facing trial on 21-sex-related counts involving seven patients&period; Heaps was told to stand as the verdict were read aloud<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In the wake of the scandal that erupted in 2019 following the doctor&&num;8217&semi;s arrest&comma; UCLA agreed to pay nearly &dollar;700 million in lawsuit settlements to hundreds of Heaps&DiacriticalAcute; patients &&num;8211&semi; a record amount by a public university amid a wave of sexual misconduct scandals by campus doctors in recent years&period;<br>Heaps was indicted last year on multiple counts each of sexual battery by fraud&comma; sexual exploitation of a patient and sexual penetration of an unconscious person by fraudulent representation&period;<br>The jury delivered a guilty verdict on three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;10&sol;image-34&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-420265" width&equals;"837" height&equals;"564"&sol;><figcaption>He was found not guilty of seven other counts of sexual battery and penetration&comma; as well as one count of sexual exploitation&period; The jury was hung on the nine remaining counts&comma; prompting the judge to declare a mistrial for those charges&period;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>He was found not guilty of seven other counts of sexual battery and penetration&comma; as well as one count of sexual exploitation&period; The jury was hung on the nine remaining counts&comma; prompting the judge to declare a mistrial for those charges&period;<br>It was not immediately clear whether the district attorney&&num;8217&semi;s office plans to refile the case on the deadlocked counts&period;<br>Heaps&DiacriticalAcute; attorney and the district attorney&&num;8217&semi;s office did not immediately return requests for comment Thursday&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;10&sol;Michael-D&period;-Carter-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-420249" width&equals;"841" height&equals;"519"&sol;><figcaption><strong>Judge Michael D&period; Carter speaks during verdict for Dr&period; James Heaps formerly of UCLA who found guilty of five counts on sexual related charges in Los Angeles Superior Court<&sol;strong><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The crimes happened while Heaps worked as a gynecologist at UCLA&period;<br>Sex abuse by doctors on college campuses has led to massive settlements at Ohio State University&comma; Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University&period;<br>UCLA&&num;8217&semi;s payouts exceed a &dollar;500 million settlement by Michigan State University in 2018 that was considered the largest by a public university&period; <br>The University of Southern California&comma; a private institution&comma; has agreed to pay more than &dollar;1 billion to settle thousands of cases against the school&&num;8217&semi;s longtime gynecologist&comma; who still faces a criminal trial in Los Angeles&period;<br>UCLA patients said Heaps groped them&comma; made suggestive comments or conducted unnecessarily invasive exams during his 35-year career&period; <br>Women who brought the lawsuits said the university ignored their complaints and deliberately concealed abuse that happened for decades during examinations at the UCLA student health center&comma; the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center or in Heaps&DiacriticalAcute; campus office&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;10&sol;James-Heaps-5&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-420251" width&equals;"809" height&equals;"1167"&sol;><figcaption>The jury delivered a guilty verdict on three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person&period; He was found not guilty of seven other counts of sexual battery and penetration&comma; as well as one count of sexual exploitation<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;10&sol;James-Heaps-in-Handcuffs-4&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-420255" width&equals;"837" height&equals;"545"&sol;><figcaption>After the verdicts were declared&comma; Heaps was ordered into custody and led out of the courtroom with his hands in cuffs back to his cell&period; Sentencing is set for Nov&period; 17&period; He faces up to 21 years in state prison<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>After the verdicts were declared&comma; Heaps was ordered into custody and led out of the courtroom with his hands in cuffs&period;<br>Heaps was taken back to his cell&period; Sentencing is set for November 17 with a prosecutor saying the guilty verdicts could lead to up to 21 years in state prison&period;<br>His former employer UCLA acknowledged it received a sex abuse complaint against Heaps from a patient in December 2017 and it launched an investigation the following month that concluded she was sexually assaulted and harassed&comma; attorneys said&period; <br>In the end UCLA called the doctor&&num;8217&semi;s conduct &&num;8220&semi;reprehensible&&num;8221&semi; following a &dollar;374&period;4-million settlement covering 312 former patients&period; However&comma; Heaps who treated about 6&comma;000 patients during his tenure&comma; continued to practice until his retirement in June 2018&period; The university did not release its finding in the investigation until November 2019 &&num;8211&semi; months after Heaps was arrested&period; <br>Furthermore&comma; a state investigation revealed that UCLA ignored multiple detailed complaints of abuse spanning decades against the doctor&period; A separate University of California report found that UCLA repeatedly failed to adequately investigate the allegations&period; UCLA allowed Heaps to return to practice in 2018 to find new victims&comma; multiple lawsuits alleged&comma; even though <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;latimes&period;com&sol;local&sol;lanow&sol;la-me-ucla-gynecologist-review-abuse-20190611-story&period;html">top university officials knew<&sol;a> of an ongoing internal investigation into the allegations&period; <br>After the verdict the college issued a statement&colon; &&num;8216&semi;UCLA Health is grateful for the patients who came forward&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the university said in a statement <br>&&num;8216&semi;Sexual misconduct of any kind is reprehensible and intolerable&period; Our overriding priority is providing the highest quality care while ensuring that patients feel safe&comma; protected and respected&period;&&num;8217&semi; <&sol;p>&NewLine;

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