A former gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, was indicted on 21 counts of sexual assault-related crimes this week.
A grand jury indictment unsealed on Monday accused 64-year-old James Heaps of multiple counts of sexual battery by fraud, sexual exploitation of a patient, and sexual penetration of an unconscious person by fraudulent representation, according to the Associated Press. The alleged assaults against seven women occurred between 2009 and 2018.
Heaps was arrested Monday and held on $1.19 million bail following the unsealing of the indictment, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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“Dr. Heaps is confident he will be exonerated at trial,” Leonard Levine, Heaps’s attorney, told the outlet. Levine said Heaps plans to post bail.
Heaps, who was previously arrested in June 2019, has already had his medical license suspended by court order, according to the Associated Press. Before the Monday indictment, Heaps faced 20 counts of sexual assault, announced in August. He pleaded not guilty to those charges, which include counts of sexual battery by fraud, sexual exploitation of a patient, and sexual penetration of a person unconscious of the nature of the act by fraudulent representation.
A separate class-action suit brought against Heaps and the University of California system resulted in a $73 million settlement agreement in November. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California preliminary approved that settlement on Jan. 8, and a final approval hearing is set for July 12, according to court documents.
The sum of allegations stem from Heaps’s stint at the UCLA student health center and UCLA Medical Center from 1983 to 2018.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3092 on Sept. 29, which gives victims more time to file claims against Heaps and UCLA by creating a one-year extension for victims whose eligibility to file suit would have otherwise expired due to the statute of limitations.
