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Family of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett speaks out
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Lawsuit accuses Chicago doctor of abusing more than 300 women over decades
CHICAGO — A lawsuit against two top Chicago hospitals accuses an OB-GYN of sexually abusing more than 300 women, most of them Latina and Spanish speakers, and alleges that the hospitals ignored the women’s complaints.
The complaint is the latest chapter in the legal saga against Fabio Ortega, 77, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to sexually abusing two patients. The suit, filed on behalf of one woman, alleges staff at NorthShore Medical Group and Swedish Covenant Hospital, now both operated by Endeavor Health, concealed complaints about the former doctor’s behavior for years leading up to his conviction and “knowingly gave him a platform to sexually abuse” hundreds more patients.
“Women reported. They reported again and again and again,” attorney Symone Shinton said at a news conference Tuesday announcing the suit. “They were told to question their very experiences as women. They were told that the very abuse that they complained about was medically necessary and normal.”
The suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of a woman identified only as “Jane Doe 300,” described the alleged experiences of several unnamed patients dating as far back as 1989, saying Ortega performed “unnecessary pelvic exams” and asked “patients intrusive questions about their sex life.”
Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley, the Chicago-based law firm representing the plaintiff, said it came to the number of more than 300 alleged victims after putting out legal ads about Ortega and receiving responses.
In the case of Jane Doe 300, who the suit stated saw Ortega twice in 2017 when she was 22 and pregnant, the doctor assaulted her “under the guise of performing ‘vaginal examinations.’”
She was one of Ortega’s last patients before he was arrested, according to the complaint. When Jane Doe 300’s husband asked why they were receiving a new doctor in the middle of their pregnancy, NorthShore hospital’s employees repeatedly told them the doctor was simply “unavailable,” according to the suit.
The hospital “withheld its knowledge that Ortega was then the subject of a criminal investigation for sexually abusing his patients,” the suit adds.
In the case of another alleged victim, who the suit said was pregnant at the time, “[Ortega inserted] his fingers into her vagina, comparing his fingers to the size of her husband’s penis.”
And in the alleged case of a 40-year-old woman who was referred to Ortega after she experienced heavy bleeding, the lawsuit stated Ortega used his fingers to stimulate her and “asked her questions including but not limited to, whether she was satisfied with her sex life and if she had anal sex.”
The lawsuit also described how patients allegedly reported abuse to unnamed nursing assistants and family doctors and, in one instance in 2004, to Chicago police.
The Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
In November 2004, the suit said, Ortega “asked for a one-year leave of absence without explanation,” after which he allegedly resumed treating patients.
Most of Ortega’s alleged victims, the lawsuit stated, were Latina and spoke little, if any, English. They were sent to him for treatment, attorneys said, because he spoke Spanish.
For a 48-year-old woman from Mexico who is one of the alleged victims anonymously quoted in the lawsuit, the case has resurrected painful memories she had buried years ago.
NBC News does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, and the woman asked to remain anonymous because she said she hasn’t told her two adult daughters about her experiences. She said she began seeing Ortega when she was an 18-year-old newlywed, pregnant with her first child.
I was angry, the woman said about the lawsuit. “Because [the hospitals] knew what was going on.”
Ortega served three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two patients; he’s since been released. Requests for comment from Ortega and attorneys who represented him in prior cases were not immediately returned.
Endeavor Health declined to comment on pending litigation or specific allegations, but said its hospitals have “absolutely no tolerance for abuse of any kind.”
“We recognize the tremendous strength and courage it takes for survivors of abuse to come forward. We believe trust is earned, and we will always look for opportunities to demonstrate our commitment to the highest standards of safety and quality in our care,” Endeavor Health said in a statement. “We have enhanced and continue to improve and evolve our processes and policies to ensure we have an environment that supports reporting of threatened or actual abuse. Our policies require we investigate all allegations of abuse that are reported to us, take prompt action in all matters and fully cooperate with law enforcement.”
Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley also represented victims of former USA gymnastics doctor and convicted sexual predator Larry Nassar.
In this case, attorneys allege hospitals ignored complaints because patients were Latina and didn’t speak English.
“Sadly what’s commonly seen is that minority patients are silenced by health care providers when they raise concerns or issue complaints,” said Parker Stinar, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. Ortega “knew that these patients would trust his white coat.”
Stinar said Tuesday that while this first suit is filed on behalf of only one of more than 300 alleged victims, additional lawsuits are coming. He wouldn’t say how many or what amount in damages the firm would ultimately seek.
He added his team isn’t pursuing a class-action case because that tactic earns every plaintiff the same amount in damages.
“How could you say that Jane Doe One’s damages for sex abuse are the same as Jane Doe Two?” Stinar said. “Everyone experiences, at the time, physically, emotionally, and different lifelong traumas. They can’t be lumped together.”
NBC News, in its inquiries Tuesday, asked Endeavor Health whether either hospital attempted to alert Ortega’s patients when he was first charged in 2021 with sexually abusing two of them.
Endeavor Health did not respond to that query.
“The hospitals, I feel like they don’t care about us as Spanish or women or Latinas,” said the woman from Mexico who spoke to NBC News. “You teach your kids to be careful when they go out. You know, to walk alone, to go in a car with strangers. But how can you prevent this, tell them be afraid of your doctor?”
Settlement reached in lawsuit between Gov. DeSantis allies and Disney
Allies of Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney reached a settlement agreement Wednesday in a state court fight over how Walt Disney World is developed in the future following the takeover of the theme park resort’s government by the Florida governor.
In a meeting, the members of the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District approved the settlement agreement, ending almost two years of litigation that was sparked by DeSantis’ takeover of the district from Disney supporters following the company’s opposition to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The 2022 law bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades and was championed by the Republican governor, who used Disney as a punching bag in speeches until he suspended his presidential campaign this year.
The district provides municipal services such as firefighting, planning and mosquito control, among other things, and was controlled by Disney supporters for most of its five decades.
Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement Wednesday that the company was pleased a settlement had been reached.
“This agreement opens a new chapter of constructive engagement with the new leadership of the district and serves the interests of all parties by enabling significant continued investment and the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and economic opportunity in the state,” Vahle said.
As punishment for Disney’s opposition to the law, DeSantis took over the governing district through legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and appointed a new board of supervisors. Disney sued DeSantis and his appointees, claiming the company’s free speech rights were violated for speaking out against the legislation. A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit in January.
Before control of the district changed hands from Disney allies to DeSantis appointees early last year, the Disney supporters on its board signed agreements with Disney shifting control over design and construction at Disney World to the company. The new DeSantis appointees claimed the “eleventh-hour deals” neutered their powers and the district sued the company in state court in Orlando to have the contracts voided.
Disney filed counterclaims that included asking the state court to declare the agreements valid and enforceable.
Under the terms of Wednesday’s settlement agreement, Disney lets stand a determination by the board of DeSantis appointees that the comprehensive plan approved by the Disney supporters before the takeover is null and void. Disney also agrees that a development agreement and restrictive covenants passed before the takeover are also not valid, according to the settlement terms.
Instead, a comprehensive plan from 2020 will be used with the new board able to make changes to it, and the agreement suggests Disney and the new board will negotiate a new development agreement in the near future.
Settlement reached in lawsuit between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis allies and Disney
Allies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney reached a settlement agreement Wednesday in a lawsuit over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district.
In a meeting, the members of the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District approved the settlement agreement, ending almost two years of litigation that was sparked by DeSantis’ takeover of the district from Disney supporters following the company’s opposition to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The 2022 law bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades and was championed by DeSantis, who used Disney as a punching bag in speeches until he suspended his presidential campaign this year.
As punishment for Disney’s opposition, DeSantis took over the governing district through legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and appointed a new board of supervisors. Disney sued DeSantis and his appointees, claiming the company’s free speech rights were violated for speaking out against the legislation. A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit in January.
Before control of the district changed hands from Disney allies to DeSantis appointees early last year, the Disney supporters on its board signed agreements with Disney shifting control over design and construction at Disney World to the company. The new DeSantis appointees claimed the “eleventh-hour deals” neutered their powers and the district sued the company in state court in Orlando to have the contracts voided.
Disney filed counterclaims that include asking the state court to declare the agreements valid and enforceable.
Producer who accused Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs adds Cuba Gooding Jr. to sexual assault, harassment lawsuit
A music producer who filed a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs last month has now accused actor Cuba Gooding Jr. of sexually harassing and assaulting him, an amended federal complaint filed Monday night shows.
The amended civil complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan hours after federal officials searched Combs’ homes. Combs is a subject of a federal investigation, and several people have been interviewed by federal officials in Manhattan in relation to allegations involving sex trafficking, assault, illegal narcotics and firearms, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Representatives for Combs, 54, did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment Monday.
The producer, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, filed his original lawsuit against Combs and others in February, alleging that Combs forced him to procure sex workers and pressured him to engage in unwelcomed sex acts with them.
The amended suit alleges that Gooding groped Jones while on Combs’ yacht.
An attorney and representatives for Gooding did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Monday.
Gooding “began touching, groping, and fondling Mr. Jones’ legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks, and his shoulders,” Jones’ the suit states.
Jones “was extremely uncomfortable and proceeded to lean away from Mr. Gooding Jr.,” the lawsuit says. “He rejected his advances and Mr. Gooding Jr. did not stop until Mr. Jones forcibly pushed him away.”
Attorneys for Jones said in the lawsuit that the incident happened on a yacht rented by Combs in the U.S. Virgin Islands in January 2023. It accused Gooding of sexual assault and misconduct.
Gooding has not been charged with any crime.
In a different case, Gooding pleaded guilty in 2022 to a misdemeanor charge that he forcibly kissed a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018.
He completed alcohol and behavior modification counseling, was then allowed to withdraw that plea and then pleaded guilty to a lesser harassment violation, resolving the case with no jail time.
On Monday, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations executed search warrants at properties belonging to Combs in Los Angeles and Miami, sources told NBC News.
There has been no information connecting Gooding to any of the searches, and it is not clear what the searches entailed.
Combs has been accused of misconduct in civil cases filed by four women. One was quickly settled and three are pending. Combs has denied the allegations in those lawsuits.
“Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth,” he said in a December statement.
Jones said in the lawsuit that he worked on Combs’ latest album, “The Love Album: Off the Grid.” The album was released in September 2023 and was nominated for a Grammy.
The suit alleges, in part, that Motown Records, and others, benefited from his work on the album, but that he was not fully compensated.
Monday’s amended complaint filed by attorneys for Jones contains a declaration by former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam who it appears to show her willing to testify about the contract involving “The Love Album.”
A spokesperson for Universal Music Group, which owns Motown Records, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit seeks damages, including punitive damages, but does not specify an amount, seeking amounts to be determined at trial.
Judge tosses out X lawsuit against hate-speech researchers, saying Elon Musk tried to punish critics
A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X Corp. against the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate, ruling that the case was about “punishing” the research group for its speech.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has documented the increase in hate speech on the site since it was acquired by the Tesla owner in 2022. X, formerly known as Twitter, sued the nonprofit last year, claiming the center’s researchers violated the site’s terms of service by improperly compiling public tweets.
X argued that the CCDH’s reports on the rise of hate speech on the service had cost it millions of dollars when advertisers fled. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer dismissed the suit, writing in his order that it was “unabashedly and vociferously about one thing” — punishing the nonprofit for its speech.
In a statement posted to X, the social media platform said it “disagrees with the court’s decision and plans to appeal.”
It’s not the only time Musk’s X has sued after a group flagged issues with hate speech on the social media platform.
Last November, several big advertisers including IBM, NBCUniversal and its parent company Comcast, said that they stopped advertising on X after a report from the liberal advocacy group Media Matters said their ads were appearing alongside material praising Nazis. The report proved to be yet another setback as X sought to win back big brands and their ad dollars, X’s main source of revenue.
In November, X sued Media Matters, alleging that the group was trying to “drive advertisers from the platform and destroy X Corp.”
Later that month, Musk went on an expletive-ridden rant in response to advertisers that halted spending on X in response to antisemitic and other hateful material, saying they are are engaging in “blackmail” and, using a profanity, essentially told them to go away.
Seeking millions from CCDH
In suing the CCDH, X had sought millions of dollars in damages from group, arguing that the nonprofit’s reports led to the exodus of advertisers and the loss of ad revenue.
But the judge agreed with CCDH’s argument saying X cannot seek damages for the independent acts of third parties based on CCDH’s reports, or its “speech.”
X had also alleged that the CCDH had “scraped” its site for data, which is against its terms of service. But the judge found that X failed to “allege losses based on technological harms” — that is, the company didn’t show how the scraping led to financial losses for X.
The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook. The organization has published several reports critical of Musk’s leadership, detailing a rise in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase.
“Hypocritical campaign of harassment”
Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, said the lawsuit amounted to a “hypocritical campaign of harassment” by a billionaire who talks about protecting free speech but who then uses his wealth to try to silence his critics. He said the lawsuit shows the need for a federal law requiring tech companies to release more information about their operations, so that the public can understand how these powerful platforms are shaping society.
“We hope this landmark ruling will embolden public-interest researchers everywhere to continue, and even intensify, their vital work of holding social media companies accountable for the hate and disinformation they host and the harm they cause,” said Ahmed.
Roberta Kaplan, the center’s attorney, said the dismissal of X’s suit shows “even the wealthiest man cannot bend the rule of law to his will.”
“We are living in an age of bullies, and it’s social media that gives them the power that they have today,” Kaplan said in an email to reporters. “It takes great courage to stand up to these bullies; it takes an organization like the Center for Countering Digital Hate. We are proud and honored to represent CCDH.”
Judge throws out Elon Musk’s X lawsuit against nonprofit CCDH
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit filed last year by Elon Musk’s X platform against the nonprofit organization Center for Countering Digital Hate.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer dismissed the lawsuit and wrote that it was an attempt to silence the center for its reports about rising hate speech and conspiracy theories on X.
“This case is about punishing the Defendants for their speech,” the judge wrote.
In a statement Monday, X said that it disagreed with Breyer’s decision and planned to appeal.
Musk, who has called himself a free speech absolutist, targeted the Center for Countering Digital Hate after it released a report called “Toxic Twitter” last year, when X was known as Twitter. That report said that Twitter under Musk’s ownership had reinstated the accounts of previously suspended “neo-Nazis, white supremacists, misogynists and spreaders of dangerous conspiracy theories,” and that Twitter stood to profit from additional advertising as a result.
X sued the center and a separate nonprofit, the European Climate Foundation, which X’s lawyers said conspired with the center to illegally obtain data about the platform’s advertising. The lawsuit said that the organizations had “cherry-picked” information and that they were unlawfully interfering with X’s relationship with advertisers.
But Breyer wrote in his ruling that X was simply trying to silence its critics, saying that X’s suit violated a California law barring litigation that is designed to punish free speech, cases that are also known as “strategic lawsuits against public participation” or SLAPP.
“X Corp.’s motivation in bringing this case is evident. X Corp. has brought this case in order to punish CCDH for CCDH publications that criticized X Corp. — and perhaps in order to dissuade others who might wish to engage in such criticism,” Breyer wrote.
“Although X Corp. accuses CCDH of trying ‘to censor viewpoints that CCDH disagrees with,’ it is X Corp. that demands ‘at least tens of millions of dollars’ in damages — presumably enough to torpedo the operations of a small nonprofit — because of the views expressed in the nonprofit’s publications,” he added.
“If CCDH’s publications were defamatory, that would be one thing, but X Corp. has carefully avoided saying that they are.”
The Center for Countering Digital Hate celebrated the dismissal and said that Musk had tried to “weaponize the courts to censor good-faith research and reporting.”
“A huge win for everyone working to hold social media giants to account,” the center said on X.
“We’ll continue to expose hate & lies wherever we see them and to stand for independent research,” it said.
Breyer in a separate ruling also dismissed the claims against the European Climate Foundation. The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lawyers for ex-Lizzo dancers say they are reviewing more complaints in wake of lawsuit
LOS ANGELES — Lawyers representing three of Lizzo’s former dancers said they’ve been reviewing new complaints since she was accused of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and weight-shaming in a lawsuit filed last week.
Ron Zambrano said his firm, which focuses on employment law, is vetting new allegations from at least six people who said they toured with Lizzo, including other dancers and some who said they worked on her Amazon Studios reality show, “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.”
The allegations, he said, are of a “sexually charged environment” and failure to pay employees.
Zambrano said that in reviewing the claims, he determined that some are potentially actionable but that others aren’t.
A representative for Lizzo declined to comment Tuesday.
Allegations against Lizzo
The suit, first reported by NBC News and filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of Arianna Davis, Noelle Rodriguez and Crystal Williams, prompted an outpouring of disappointment among fans and a rebuke from Lizzo, who called the allegations “sensationalized stories” that were “false” and “unbelievable.”
The suit alleges conduct that another lawyer representing the plaintiffs, Neama Rahmani, described as “outrageous.” Lizzo, who’s known for promoting body positivity and celebrating her physique, allegedly pressured a dancer to touch a nude performer at a strip club, called attention to the dancer’s weight and fired her in front of other performers after she recorded a meeting in an effort to help manage a health condition, according to the suit.
It accuses Lizzo of calling out the dancer’s weight after an appearance at the South by Southwest music festival. In a meeting with all of the dancers this year, Lizzo allegedly said it was “normal” for them to get “fired when they get fat,” Zambrano said this week.
The weight allegation is part of a disability discrimination claim in the lawsuit. Davis says she has an eating disorder.
Williams and Davis were fired in April and May, respectively. Rodriguez resigned in May.
The suit also accuses Lizzo’s dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, of proselytizing to other performers and deriding those who had premarital sex while sharing lewd sexual fantasies, simulating oral sex and publicly discussing Davis’ virginity.
Quigley and her representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Career fallout
It isn’t clear whether the allegations will hurt Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson. Luminate, which analyzes entertainment and music industry data, said in an email that there appeared to be little impact on her sales, streaming and airplay from last Tuesday to Friday.
The company said more data, which is released weekly, will be available Friday.
Lizzo released her fourth album last year, and her single “Pink,” which appears in “Barbie” and is on the movie’s soundtrack, was released last month.
Fabletics, which launched the shapewear brand YITTY with Lizzo last year, which aims to champion “body normality” and “self-love,” didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Amazon Studios announced this year that “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” was auditioning for season 2. The company didn’t respond to a request for comment.
A Philadelphia music festival that Lizzo was scheduled to headline in September was canceled Tuesday; in a statement, organizers didn’t say why.
Representatives for the festival, Live Nation, Lizzo and SZA, who was also scheduled to headline the event, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Before the lawsuit was filed, ticket sales for the festival were “not good,” a source close to the production said.
Dancers’ claims
Davis and Williams began performing with Lizzo after they competed for the show’s first season two years ago. It was their first experience working in the industry, Zambrano said.
Rodriguez was hired the same year after she performed in the video “Rumors.” She had previously worked for Beyoncé, Janet Jackson and Lady Gaga, Zambrano said.
Rodriguez hadn’t previously experienced anything like what she encountered working for Lizzo, Zambrano said. Even being taken out to a club — as Davis said the dancers were when Lizzo allegedly goaded her into touching a nude performer — was unusual, Zambrano recalled Rodriguez as saying.
“Typically what happens is after the show, people stick around at the venue and have a party at the venue,” he said. “And that’s it. It’s very rare to be invited to dinners or a club afterwards.”
After they resigned or were fired, all three women “went to their separate homes to be with their families to basically recover from the experience,” he said.
“It was really traumatic for them,” he said, noting that they were fired in front of management and security staffers. “They felt very unsafe, very vulnerable.”
The women were unable to publicly discuss the circumstances of their firings because they signed nondisclosure agreements, Zambrano said. When they first approached his firm, Zambrano said, they came with their mothers, because they felt “unsafe” talking about what had happened.
Filing the lawsuit, he added, allowed them to get “their story out.”
Lizzo rejects allegations
Two days after the suit was filed, Lizzo responded in a statement calling the allegations “gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing.”
“My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned,” she said. “My character has been criticized.”
“Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed,” she said, adding that the dancers “have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”
A lawyer for Lizzo, Marty Singer, who has called the lawsuit “specious,” pointed to a video interview for season 2 of Lizzo’s reality show, in which Davis said she looked up to Lizzo and wanted to “follow in her footsteps.”
The interview is from April, and Davis said the video was recorded before the “bulk of our allegations.” She said it showed how much she was trying to please Lizzo.
“Right up until the last minute, I didn’t realize how bad it was and how much I was being taken advantage of,” she said. “I just genuinely wanted to save my job.”
In an interview broadcast Monday by Sky News, Williams pushed back against Lizzo’s comments, saying Lizzo was “confirming the pattern of every time somebody speaks up or advocates for themselves, like we’re doing now, we get victim-blamed, we get gaslighted, and she likes to point the finger instead of addressing the issues that are brought up.”
“Just to deny and victim-blame and not even take accountability … it’s just so insensitive and kind of invalidates our experience as a whole,” Rodriguez added.
The suit doesn’t specify a dollar amount for damages that cover emotional distress, including unpaid wages, loss of earnings and attorney’s fees.
Rahmani said his preference is to try the plaintiffs’ case in court, but he said he’s obligated to present them with any potential settlement offer.
So far, he said, he hasn’t discussed the matter with the dancers because of the tone of the comments from Lizzo and her lawyer.
“But things can change pretty quickly,” he said.
A case management conference is scheduled for Jan. 26.
Virginia pediatrician is accused in lawsuit of sexually assaulting a mother during her baby’s exam
A Virginia pediatrician who has been accused by two teenage patients in a civil lawsuit of sexually abusing them during medical examinations is being sued again, this time by a mom who says the doctor assaulted her as she held her baby boy.
The mom says in a recently filed civil lawsuit that Dr. Martin Seth Forman was “pretending” to examine her son’s ears when the incident allegedly happened on Jan. 27 at his private practice in Lansdowne, Virginia.
Forman, according to the complaint filed Friday, “straddled the plaintiff’s legs and began rubbing his penis against her while examining the child’s ears.” As the examination went on he continued to grind against the woman, the court documents said.
Forman also committed simple battery by touching her breasts, the mother alleges in the civil lawsuit, filed in Loudoun County Circuit Court.
It is the third civil lawsuit accusing Forman, a 70-year-old board-certified pediatrician, of preying on women while performing medical examinations.
The alleged assault happened six months after Forman and Reston Pediatrics were hit with a $1.3 million civil verdict for barging into the home of a 15-year-old patient under the guise of making an unscheduled “house call” and allegedly fondling the girl’s breasts. A circuit court judge later dismissed an appeal by the defendants.
The mother, who is not identified by name in the court papers, has accused Forman of sexual battery and is seeking $2 million in damages.
In a telephone interview Tuesday, the mother said she had taken her other children to the clinic before for checkups and had never had an encounter like the one described in the lawsuit with Forman.
“This was very disturbing,” she said.
Reston Pediatrics, where Forman is a founding partner and still works, is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit because it “had actual knowledge of Forman’s propensity to commit acts of sexual battery against women and young girls.”
Forman and the clinic are also being sued for $8.7 million by the parents of another female patient for allegedly touching her breasts and rubbing himself against her earlier this year while performing a lymph node examination her parents claim was unnecessary.
When NBC News first reported on allegations against Forman last month, Jacob Pierce, the attorney for both the doctor and his clinic, released the following statement:
“Dr. Forman and Reston Pediatrics categorically deny all the allegations made against each of them. Given that this case is currently in pending litigation, we do not have any further comment at this time.”
Forman is now being represented by Coreen Silverman who said, “This is all about money.”
“This a public campaign to destroy a good man’s name,” Silverman said Tuesday in a telephone interview.
A representative for the clinic did not immediately respond Tuesday after NBC News called the practice seeking comment about the third lawsuit.
NBC News reached out to Pierce on Tuesday about the third lawsuit against Forman. He did not immediately respond.
Forman has never been charged with a crime. He has been in private practice since 1984, according to a Reston Pediatrics Facebook posting from 2016. He holds a license to practice medicine in Virginia that is valid until Oct. 31, 2024, records show.
The mom said she reported the alleged incident to the Virginia State Police, but the two special agents who questioned her treated her more like a suspect than a victim.
“It was very much like a good cop, bad cop scenario,” she said.
One of them warned her “we get a lot of false reports and there could be consequences,” she said.
The other, she said, “seemed more sensitive.”
Jim Magner, who represents all of Forman’s accusers, said the agency chose not to investigate her allegations.
“I don’t know why,” the mom said, when asked.
NBC News reached out to the Virginia State Police on Monday and Tuesday for comment about the Forman investigation and to one of the special agents directly on Tuesday.
When Forman was accused of inappropriately touching the first teenager in 2017, the state Department of Health Professions, which regulates doctors, declined to discipline Forman. It also declined to comment on whether it would move to lift his license after Forman was hit with a second civil lawsuit.
When NBC News reached out to the DHP to see if it was investigating Forman now that a third woman has accused him of abuse, agency spokesperson Diane Powers responded via email.
“The Board cannot comment on a specific licensee or allegation, nor can the Board confirm or deny receipt of a complaint or the existence of an investigation as such information is confidential pursuant to Virginia law,” Powers wrote.