Fil-Am doctor in Florida convicted of sexual battery
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SAN FRANCISCO — A Filipino American doctor who made a house call in Broward County, Florida in 2014 was convicted by a jury Wednesday, June 28 of sexual battery, for attempting to perform a sex act on his 19-year-old woman patient.
Jerry Ciocon, 62, faces up to 15 years in prison. The victim said Ciocon was a family friend who had provided medical assistance to her family in the past.
Ciocon went to the victim’s home on Aug. 3, 2014 to remove a vaginal cyst. The victim and Ciocon went to her bedroom for the procedure. Her sister and her grandmother were home at the time.
But the woman said she was surprised when the doctor started to molest her after she had undressed, and she told him to stop, which he did.
Ciocon’s defense attorney said the doctor misread the patient’s body language and thought she had become sexually aroused.
After the woman reported the incident to police, detectives recorded them during a phone call in which Ciocon apologized. His defense lawyer said the apology was for misinterpreting the patient and not an admission of criminal guilt.
The jury returned a guilty verdict after 15 minutes of deliberation. Ciocon will be sentenced by Broward Circuit Judge Dennis Bailey Aug. 25.
