| For Immediate Release Case # TBA October 22, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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OCDA SEEKS PUBLIC’S HELP IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL VICTIMS OF PHYSICIAN’S ASSISTANT CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY ASSUALTING FEMALE PATIENT UNDER GUISE OF MEDICAL EXAM
FULLERTON – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) is seeking the public’s help identifying potential additional victims of a physician’s assistant charged with sexually assaulting a female patient under the guise of performing a medical exam. Rocael Gomez, 48, La Mirada, is charged with one felony count each of sexual penetration by foreign object of an unconscious victim, and sexual battery by fraud. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of nine years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. The defendant is out of custody on $250,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Department N-3, North Justice Center, Fullerton.
At the time of the crime, Gomez is accused of being a physician’s assistant at the Anaheim Market Clinic in Anaheim and Bansuan Medical Clinic in El Monte.
On Jan. 4, 2013, Gomez is accused of attending to 51-year-old Jane Doe, who had gone to the Anaheim Market Clinic with lower back pain. The defendant is accused of performing a medical exam and touching the victim’s lower back where she indicated she felt pain. He is accused of then touching Jane Doe on different parts of her body, including the victim’s breasts under the pretext of conducting a medical exam and asking if she felt pain. Gomez is accused of digitally penetrating the victim without wearing gloves. He is accused of sexually touching the victim under the guise that his actions served a legitimate professional purpose.
That day, Jane Doe contacted the Anaheim Police Department (APD) and reported the sexual assault.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information or who believes they have been a victim is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Paul Carvo at (714) 347-8794.
If convicted, the defendant’s mandatory lifetime sex offender registration will bar Gomez from entering County recreational areas and City parks which have passed the Sex Offender Ordinance. Visit www.orangecountyda.com to read the prior press releases on the County’s Sex Offender Ordinance as well as the 14 other cities that have enacted the Child Safety Zone Ordinance.
Deputy District Attorney Jess Rodriguez of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.