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Hi - I'm Brian. I am an attorney that practices in PA, NJ, NY, and IL. I am a former sex crimes prosecutor and my day-to-day cases are almost exclusively helping survivors of sexual abuse get justice. My team and I are ready to help.
Dr. Ricardo Cruciani, a specialist in the treatment of complex neurological disorders, has been accused of sexual assault and rape by more than 17 women. Now, the physician has been charged yet again, this time by law enforcement officials in New York who say Cruciani repeatedly raped a patient for years while working at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital.
Cruciani was arraigned on multiple counts of rape and sexual misconduct in the Manhattan Criminal Court, pleading not guilty to the charges on Wednesday, February 21, 2018. Hospital rape is a serious crime in New York, and Cruciani faces stiff penalties if convicted.
Nearly 20 women, all former patients, have stepped forward to accuse Cruciani of heinous sexual misconduct, the Associated Press writes. Many have reported Cruciani’s alleged abuse to the police, while others have hired civil attorneys to represent them in private lawsuits, suing both Cruciani himself and the medical facilities where he worked.
Reports of sexual assault, along with criminal convictions, have followed Dr. Cruciani from Philadelphia to New Jersey to New York. As chairman of Drexel University’s neurology department, Cruciani came under fire for assaulting seven of his patients. He was fired in March after Drexel conducted an internal investigation.
Then, in November 2017, the neurologist pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault and four counts of harassment by unwanted physical contact in the case, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Cruciani was registered as a sex offender and sentenced to seven years of probation. His Pennsylvania-issued medical license had been revoked one month earlier.
A resident of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, Cruciani worked for years at New York’s Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, before moving to Capital Health Medical Center, an office near Trenton, New Jersey. The neurologist specialized in treating complex pain conditions, from intractable migraine headaches to peripheral nerve disorders.
A number of patients say that, despite Dr. Cruciani’s alleged abuse, they felt they had no choice but to continue to see the doctor, since he was one of the only specialists who could treat their conditions. As the Associated Press wrote in November, multiple patients now accuse Cruciani of “using his impressive reputation as a healer to trap women in long-term doctor-patient relationships marked by abuse.”
Legal experts believe that, with increased publicity around Cruciani’s case, we should expect more women to step forward with their own claims of assault against the neurologist. And, with serious allegations of negligence now leveled against many of the doctor’s former employers, it’s unlikely that we’ve seen the end of civil lawsuits involving Cruciani’s alleged misconduct.
Our experienced New York sexual assault attorneys are here to help. If you or a loved one were assaulted or mistreated by Dr. Ricardo Cruciani, contact the lawyers at Abuse Guardian today to learn more about your options. In a free, confidential consultation, you can find information on your rights and possible choices for legal recourse. To secure your free consultation, call our attorneys now.
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