A Sacramento County physician is accused of sexually assaulting three female patients who saw him for exams related to workers' compensation claims in 2009, according to authorities.
Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrested 60-year-old Scott Dodd Anderson at his area home late Tuesday morning, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran. Anderson was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of multiple charges, including sexual exploitation by a physician, rape, attempted sodomy and unlawful touching of an intimate part, records show.In all, Anderson faces 18 felony counts and 12 misdemeanor counts of abuse, according to the Sacramento County district attorney's complaint against him.
As of Tuesday night, Anderson remained at the Main Jail, where he was being held in lieu of $750,000 bail. He declined to speak with a Bee reporter.
Anderson is expected to be arraigned Thursday.
Sexual assault detectives began investigating Anderson in December, after one of his three alleged victims told her family of the alleged abuse, Curran said. The woman's family persuaded her to contact authorities.
Detectives identified two more alleged victims during the course of the investigation, Curran said. The women range in age from their early 30s to their early 60s.
The women suffered the alleged abuse while visiting Anderson at the U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group clinic on Fair Oaks Boulevard, near San Juan Avenue, between May and September, Curran said. They were being examined in connection with workers' compensation claims and were not under any sedation when the alleged assaults occurred, Curran said.
Anderson left that clinic in September, Curran said, and detectives could not find any record of him practicing medicine since then.
U.S. HealthWorks released this statement about the case: "Our patients are our No. 1 priority, and if these allegations are true, we are outraged that one of our former employees would have acted in this manner. We have cooperated fully in this investigation and trust that this individual will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
Detectives suspect there are more victims and encourage them to come forward, Curran said.
Anderson graduated from the Tufts University School of Medicine in 1975 and received his California license to practice medicine two years later, according to the Medical Board of California's online records. His license, which is renewed and current, is scheduled to expire in May 2011, the records show.
According to Sacramento Superior Court records, Anderson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace in 1999. Records show he was not given probation for the conviction.Read the full story at the Sacramento Bee.