Doctor who assaulted patients at Norwich clinic sentenced to 18 months
A doctor who sexually assaulted his female patients by performing unnecessary breast and pelvic examinations at a Norwich clinic heard statements from his victims at his sentencing Monday, looking straight ahead as the women called him a “predator” and called the effects of the assault “crippling.”
Former physician Manoj K. Saxena was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by 10 years of probation, a deal that state prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman and defense attorney William F. Dow agreed on before Saxena, 46, pleaded guilty in February to three counts of second-degree sexual assault and one count of fourth-degree sexual assault.
The mother of one of Saxena's victims spoke at the hearing in New London Superior Court Monday, saying her daughter has isolated herself from her friends and family since the assault.
"Over the last two years I have literally watched my beautiful, loving, affectionate, carefree, fun daughter become an isolated, untrusting withdrawn unaffectionate, solemn young woman," she said, speaking quickly. "I am confident that her continued therapy will help her become the loving and patient mother she was before this violation changed her soul."
Saxena, who surrendered his medical license following his arrests in 2015, will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
One of his victims described in court Monday how she went to the Concentra Urgent Care Clinic at 10 Connecticut Ave. in 2014 for a physical examination as part of her application for a job.
“To me, it was just part of the process of obtaining a job, one that I was excited to begin," she said, crying. "Little did I know that day would change my life forever ... dealing with this has been crippling."
Another victim wrote in a statement read aloud by Stephanie Barber, a court victim advocate, that she was a senior in high school when she saw Saxena as part of her attempt to diagnose and treat a blood clot disorder.
"I had to put all my trust in the doctors I had," she wrote. "I never thought doctors would do things that they knew weren't right. Ever since this experience I have felt violated and more awkward around doctors and older men."
An 18-year-old employee of the City of Norwich was the first person to alert police about Saxena’s behavior after she visited the clinic for a bite on the forearm from an autistic child.
Saxena made inappropriate comments about her anatomy, then conducted both exams without a nurse in the room, according to the arrest warrant affidavit in the case.
Three others patients came forward after learning that Saxena had been arrested.
Saxena, who now lives in New York, arrived early to the proceedings and sat silently in the court hallway before the hearing began. He did not address Judge Hillary B. Strackbein or the victims, standing still during the proceedings and occasionally speaking to Dow, his attorney, behind his hand.
Dow said his client pleaded guilty under the Alford Doctrine, which indicates he does not agree with the state's version of the case but does not want to risk a trial, where he could receive a harsher sentence if convicted.
Saxena, who turned down an offer last year to plead guilty in exchange for a three-year prison sentence, has been free on bonds totaling $190,000 while his attorney attempted to work out a deal with Ferryman, the prosecutor.
After Saxena rejected the plea offer in July 2016, Strackbein told him he faced up to 34 years in prison if convicted. The attorneys reached a deal in February as jury selection was set to begin for the trial.
Saxena also faces civil suits seeking damages from at least three of the four victims, Dow said.
The full sentence amounts to five years, suspended after 18 months, plus 10 years of probation and permanent registration as a sex offender. He is also subjected to protective orders preventing him from contacting any of the four victims.
The conditions of Saxena's sentence are strong enough to constitute a fair punishment, Strackbein said, and has the added benefit of protecting the victims from having to endure a trial, she said.
"I believe that we do hold doctors to a very high standard," Strackbein told Saxena. "There's usually a very high level of trust in doctors. What they tell us we tend to believe ... and this is why this is such an egregious breach of trust."