A former Corpus Christi doctor has pleaded guilty to charges that he inappropriately touched patients in a sexual manner during office visits.
Dr. Jaime Sandoval, 65, accepted a plea deal on April 10 for three separate misdemeanor cases classified as Class A “assault causing bodily injury,” according to Nueces County court records.
For punishment, he received a 12-month jail sentence for time served and was released the same day. Sandoval had been in jail since June 5, or about 10 months, according to court records.
One of those misdemeanor cases stemmed from an office visit on April 24, 2017, in which a female patient described an unnecessary breast examination during her visit for a prescription refill, according to court records and sources familiar with the case.
The two other cases are related to the two felony sexual assault charges dismissed earlier this year after Sandoval’s attorney proved those cases were not filed correctly, and should have been filed as misdemeanors. A third felony sexual assault case was dismissed last month.
A week ago, the doctor pleaded guilty to an intoxication assault charge in a separate case that involved accusations he was driving under the influence and wrecked into another vehicle. For that, he received a two-year probation sentence.
The Texas Medical Board temporarily suspended Dr. Sandoval’s license on July 20, 2017, after the board found the doctor engaged in a “pattern of inappropriate conduct with five female patients in which he violated sexual boundaries through inappropriate touching, actions and comments, which were offensive and of a sexual nature.”
The board found that pattern occurred from approximately February 12, 2009, to April 27, 2017.
Sandoval voluntarily surrendered his medical license in August 2017, according to a spokesperson with the Texas Medical Board.
Nueces County First Assistant District Attorney Angelica Hernandez, who handled the case, did not return phone calls and texts on Wednesday about how the criminal case was handled.
She instead referred KRIS 6 News to First Assistant District Attorney Matthew Manning who has not responded to a request for comment.
