Sexual abuse complaints against Kaiser surgeon go back 5 years

Written for the web by Elizabeth Bishop, News 10 Internet News Producer

A Kaiser plastic surgeon accused of sexually exploiting patients and possessing illegal weapons reportedly was accused of sexual misconduct as early as 2001.

While Takasugi, 53, is charged with one count of sexually assaulting a patient, it appears the bulk of the allegations involved him reportedly taking sexually exploitative photographs under the guise of medical necessity. Noel Ferris, a Sacramento attorney, on Thursday filed a civil lawsuit against Takasugi and Kaiser Permanente. Her client is a woman in her 20s suffering from cancer. She was seeing Takasugi for cosmetic surgery. Ferris claims Takasugi took photographs of an area of the woman’s leg where he planned to take skin for a graft but that Takasugi told the patient to disrobe completely and that he actually took several explicit photographs of private areas of her body.

Ferris said she learned in conversations with Sacramento County sheriff’s investigators there was another female patient from 2001 who claimed Takasugi wanted to take photographs of her, but that woman felt uncomfortable and asked for another doctor. She is one of the alleged victims named in the warrant.

Kaiser Permanente spokeswoman Cindy Breedlove responded, “We’ve taken all patient concerns and complaints seriously. When any complaints came in, we referred them to police.” When asked if any complaint had been made about Dr. Takasugi in 2001, Breedlove said that because the allegations are still under investigation, she could not comment.

Ferris said, however, that it was Kaiser officials who turned over information about the 2001 complaint to investigators as they looked into the more recent allegations.

Takasugi was arrested Tuesday evening when deputies arrived at his home in Carmichael to serve a search warrant. While they were there, investigators spotted what appeared to be dynamite. The device turned out to be fake, but deputies searched the home and found more than 30 firearms, including an anti-tank rocket, several assault-type weapons and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. R.L. Davis said.

Takasugi was arraigned today on 10 counts that include one count of sexual assault of unconscious person, one misdemeanor count of sexual conduct with patient, four counts of felony possession of a destructive device, and four felony counts possession of an assault weapon.

“There are things blown way out of proportion here in both aspects of the case,” said Takasugi’s attorney, John Panneton. He said he couldn’t comment any further but said that when the case is all over, he expects Takasugi will be vindicated of both the sexual exploitation charges and the weapons charges.

Previously from CBS5.com:

Weapons Cache Found At NorCal Home Of Doctor — A massive cache of weapons including a rocket launcher has been discovered at a Sacramento County home by sheriff’s deputies investigating a doctor accused of sexually exploiting a patient.

Kaiser Statement Regarding Arrest Of Dr. Takasugi — Kaiser Permanente released the following statement regarding the arrest of Dr. Scott Takasugi on charges of sexually expoiting a patient.

Updates:

June 19, 2006 from the Sacramento Bee: Kaiser surgeon fired; court documents detail case — A Kaiser Permanente plastic surgeon facing an array of gun charges and accused of sexually assaulting and exploiting patients was fired Monday, the same day a document was filed in court showing that he had 40 other patient complaints filed against him over six years.

June 20, 2006 from KCRA.com: More Women Step Forward In Kaiser Doctor Case — While Kaiser admitted it has received dozens of complaints against Takasugi, some are questioning how long hospital officials have known about potential problems.

June 21, 2006 from the Sacramento Bee: Doctor accused of sexual misconduct agrees to have medical license suspended — Dr. Scott Takasugi, the Kaiser Permanente plastic surgeon accused of sexual misconduct with female patients, has agreed to a suspension of his license to practice medicine, officials from the Medical Board of California said Wednesday.

June 22, 2006 from the Sacramento Bee: Two more accuse Kaiser doctor — Hospital says patient complaints triggered strong response. As two more patients alleging sexual abuse filed suit Wednesday against Kaiser Permanente, hospital officials detailed their handling of complaints that piled up over the years against plastic surgeon Scott Takasugi.

June 23, 2006 from the Sacramento Bee: State says it will check on Kaiser — How were patient complaints on arrested doctor handled? The state Department of Managed Health Care said Thursday it will look into how Kaiser Permanente handled complaints that led to the arrest last week of Dr. Scott Takasugi.