TEMECULA -- A Temecula woman claims a former North County doctor who was arrested on charges of sexual assault, violated her during a medical procedure.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, is the first to file a civil lawsuit against former Dr. John Francis McGuire, who was arrested in August.
The woman said she trusted the ear, nose and throat specialist. However, one day, during a medical procedure he went too far.
“I had an experience unlike any other,” she said.
“He touched my breasts and kissed me. I pushed him away and said, ‘you know, you're going to get in a lot of trouble.’”
She went months without saying a word. Thinking it could never happen again, she alleges she went back for a medical procedure in April 2015.
It happened to be the same day that police say Dr. McGuire sexually assaulted another patient, which led to his arrest in August at his Escondido office at Graybill Medical Group, where he had just started practicing.
“Coming forward, I'm hoping to help other women know that it's OK to come forward.”
“For a doctor to betray that level of trust by doing what this man did, It's unforgivable,” said the woman’s attorney, John Mittelman.
Mittelman believes this is the first of many civil suits against McGuire.
“He's gotten away with it, preying on the fears and the insecurities of those women he's abused,” said Mittelman, who is also suing Dr. McGuire's former employers. That lawsuit alleges someone knew what McGuire was doing, but failed to report it.
“If they didn't know, they darn well should've known. And either way a jury will have enough information if it comes to that to make that ruling, to give that verdict.”
McGuire remains lodged in the Southwest County Detention Center in Murrieta on $3 million bail. He faces five felony and three misdemeanor counts. He's due back in court in early November.
