Former Doctor Gets 13 Years For Raping Patient
MAYWOOD, Ill. (STMW) -- A former west suburban doctor was sentenced to 13 years in prison Monday for sexually assaulting a patient during an examination in 2005.
Judge Noreen Love sentenced Ricardo Arze, 59, to 13 years, according to a statement from the Cook County State's Attorney's office. A jury convicted Arze of criminal sexual assault in May 2012 for the attack on a 48-year-old woman in his Berwyn office.
Prosecutors said the woman came to Arze's medical office in the 6900 block of West Cermak Road in Berwyn for a follow-up visit after an illness, and to get a note saying she could return to work, prosecutor's said.
Arze told the patient he was going to examine her, but instead of examining her lungs, he had her lay back on a table and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.
The woman did not report the incident until 2007, after Arze had been charged with three similar attacks, the state's attorney's office said. Those cases are pending.
Arze's medical license was suspended by the Illinois Financial and Professional Regulation Department, and police were later notified that he continued to see patients, authorities said.
He was also charged with practicing medicine without a license.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
