Pedophile doc gets just 1 year in jail for sexually abusing 18-yr-old he had been treating since she was a baby
FREDERICK, MARYLAND: A pediatrician was sentenced this week to one year in prison after he sexually assaulted an 18-year-old girl he had been treating since she was a baby.
Ernesto Torres, 69, who is accused of abusing children as young as 11 throughout his 30-year medical career, was jailed for the assault on the girl during a physical exam that took place at his Maryland clinic this April, the New York Post reports.
According to the girl, the disgraced doctor put his hands down her pants and touched her inappropriately for five minutes while she cried. She went ahead and reported him, inspiring 23 more alleged victims to come forward with claims of his abuse.
As a result, Torres is now charged with over 65 sexual crimes, the majority of which he is yet to be tried for.
While Torres was sentenced to one year behind bars, he was also given credit for 230 days he has already spent on house arrest since May. The pediatrician, therefore, will mostly spend just another 100 days or so behind bars for that particular incident.
That said, he is yet to face a second trial for a litany of crimes against 11 alleged victims next year.
However, prosecutors decried the judge's decision after Torres was convicted of sexual assault and not second-degree rape.
At the trial, the girl testified that she was suffering from anxiety and so had gone to him for a prescription when the abuse took place. According to her, this was the first time she did not have her mother or a chaperone with her in the 18 years she had been visiting Torres.
Furthermore, she claimed there was no other staff present who could have monitored the appointment. The victim said the physical exam had taken her by shock, and in no time she could feel him penetrating her digitally.
This went on for a full five minutes, and she cried throughout the ordeal.
"He was standing over me. I couldn’t get up," she recalled. "I was very emotional and I was crying."