Pediatrician Accused of Taping, Sexually Abusing Patients

WPIX.com
2:53 PM PDT, July 16, 2010

BETHPAGE, N.Y. -- He was a well regarded pediatrician, but now allegations have surfaced that for years Dr. Rakesh Punn has been sexually abusing and secretly video taping young girls.

"When the girls would be laying on the examination table he would ask them to put on a blindfold," Assistant District Attorney Anne Donnelly told reports.

"He told them it would be more comfortable since the lights would be too bright or it might make them more relaxed.

He actually put gauze under the blindfolds so they couldn't see out the bottoms."

Prosecutors say Punn admitted that he even drugged some of his victims, so he could not only photograph and videotape their privates, but fondle them as well.

His attorney says the confession was illegally obtained and questions why there is such a rush to judgment for crimes said to have taken place in 2007.

"It's pretty incredible. You'd be prosecuted 3 years later and be held on $1.5 million bail for something that allegedly happened 3 years ago," said Punn's attorney Nicholas Marino.

Prosecutors say they were only alerted to what was going on Tuesday and arrested Punn Thursday.

They say they're still going through his videos which date back to 2007 and believe there are many more victims.

"We have some video tapes that we are not able to identify the young women," said Donnelly.

"So, we want everyone to know if they might have been victimized by Dr. Punn, to call."

Punn also had a civil surgeons licensed issued by homeland security so he could examine immigrants looking to change their status.

If convicted of the charges against him now, Punn could get up to 35 years in prison.

From: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-pediatrian-sex-abuse,0,2045771.story