The Atlanta VA Medical Center. (FOX 5)
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A primary care physician at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Decatur has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a female patient who was under his care.
After an eight-day trial, a jury found Dr. Rajesh Motibhai Patel guilty of violating a patient’s constitutional right to bodily integrity while acting under color of law and engaging in unwanted sexual contact.
Patel was indicted in 2023 after officials said he groped and improperly touched four female veteran patients between 2019 and 2020.
"Dr. Patel violated the cardinal rule of a physician to do no harm to patients under his care," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. "Veterans who consulted him for treatment, like the victim in this case, trusted Dr. Patel and he violated that trust. His conviction hopefully provides a measure of healing for those impacted by his crimes."
The jury acquitted Patel of charges connected to three victims but found him guilty of charges connected to the fourth.
"The verdict is an important step in seeking justice for a sexual assault committed against a veteran seeking care at a VA medical center," said Michael J. Missal, Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs. "VA employees are entrusted with keeping our nation’s veterans safe while receiving care. Acts of violence against veterans in VA facilities are reprehensible and shatters that trust. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold anyone who would commit these crimes accountable."
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In a statement to Military.com, the VA said Patel had been removed from patient care and reassigned to a role that required no interactions with patients after the department learned about the allegations.
"These alleged actions are horrific and unacceptable. We take this matter extremely seriously, and we have been cooperating with law enforcement since these concerns were raised," VA press secretary Terrence Hayes said in the statement. "We will offer any impacted veteran the care and support they need, and we will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation."
The Lilburn man is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge on Feb. 20, 2025.