The University of California paid nearly $700 million to settle claims by hundreds of women who said they were sexually assaulted by James Heaps during medical exams.
LOS ANGELES (CN) – A former UCLA gynecologist-oncologist was sentenced to 11 years in state prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing five patients.
James Heaps, 69, pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person, five felony counts of sexual deception by deception and two counts of sexual exploitation of a patient, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
His plea comes about two months after the California Court of Appeals upside down his 2022 sentence because the trial judge failed to inform attorneys that, during deliberations, the jury had sent him a note that one of the jurors — a deputy who had replaced another juror — did not understand enough English to participate.
“Today marks the second time we are holding James Heaps accountable for the senseless crimes he committed while entrusted with the safety of his patients,” LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “For years, Heaps exploited the sacred trust between a doctor and patient to prey on vulnerable victims during medical procedures.”
In 2022, a jury convicted Charged with three counts of sexual fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person.
Jurors acquitted him of three counts of sexual fraud, three counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person and one count of sexual exploitation of a patient, and they were hanged on a further three counts of sexual fraud, four counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person and two counts of sexual exploitation of a patient.
After the trial he was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
That conviction and sentence were overturned in February after the appeals panel concluded that the judge’s failure to inform Heaps’ attorney of the jury’s grade deprived the doctor of his right to counsel.
The judge had sent his judicial assistant to speak with the juror, who told him in Spanish that he understood enough English to continue the discussion.
Heaps was once among the highest-paid doctors in the UC system, having treated thousands of patients during his 35 years at UCLA. The university has PAID nearly $700 million to settle civil claims by hundreds of women who accused Heaps of sexually assaulting them during medical exams and scheduling unnecessary appointments and procedures for financial gain.
That amount at the time was believed to be the largest settlement by a public university for sexual abuse allegations — more than the University of Michigan paid to settle the claims abuse by doctor Larry Nassar, though significantly less than the $1.1 billion paid by the private University of Southern California to settle the claims abuse by her gynecologist George Tyndall.
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