SAN DIEGO -- More possible victims have come forward to make allegations against a dental assistant charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl while she was undergoing a dental procedure under anesthesia, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Deputy District Attorney Martin Doyle told Judge Jay Bloom that since Luis Ramos was arraigned on Friday, at least 15 calls have come into the San Diego Police Department regarding the case.
Out of those 15 calls, one female has been interviewed by police and the investigation is continuing, the prosecutor said.
Doyle asked the judge to increase the defendant's bail from $100,000 to $500,000, but the judge declined, saying the information presented was "very speculative."
Detectives are sifting through 500 hours of surveillance video from Park Boulevard Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery to see if they can find evidence of other females being molested, Doyle said.
Ramos, 36, pleaded not guilty to seven felony counts of sexual battery of an unconscious person involving the 17-year-old girl. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Doyle alleged that Ramos molested the girl -- touching her breasts and putting his face in her chest -- for about seven minutes while he was alone with her at the surgical office on Jan. 21.
The alleged crime was captured on video, the prosecutor said.
"She (the victim) felt some touching that happened after the procedure (which was) somewhat inappropriate. She reported that," Doyle said outside court. "When we served the search warrant, we recovered a video of the act occurring."
Ramos had worked for the surgical office for three years, Doyle said.
The defendant's employer has cooperated with investigators, said police Lt. Sandra Rapalee-Albrektsen.
Ramos has been suspended without pay pending resolution of the case, said general manager Chasity Daniel.
A woman patient there, who did not want to be identified, told 10News she’s waiting to see if police contact her.
"I don't know anything; waiting to see if I'm contacted in case something happened. I feel it's unfortunate because the surgeon is awesome!"
A readiness conference was scheduled for March 1 and a preliminary hearing set for April 5.
