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A York County doctor has been charged with sexually assaulting two female patients during medical examinations. 46-year-old Dr. Shubhra Ray is charged with one count of aggravated indecent assault and two counts of indecent assault.
Ray is accused of touching the breasts of the two women and engaging in other forms of sexual assault.
On February 22, 2019, York Area Regional police spoke with a woman who had been a patient at WellSpan Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine. She had been seeing Dr. Shubra Ray at that facility for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema since 2014.
This woman told police that Dr. Ray listened to her lungs during her first visit, while a nurse was present. But in subsequent visits, she told police that she was “braless for an overly long amount of time.”
During an appointment on March 8, 2018, Ray asked the woman to remove her bra while they were alone in the room. She mentioned a small lump below her right collarbone and Ray said that he would feel the spot, but allegedly did a full exam of both of her breasts.
The woman told police that Ray then had her remove her pants and penetrated his vagina with his bare hands.
Several months after these alleged incidents, the woman told the nurse about what happened before an appointment. The nurse told the woman to report the incident and agreed to stay in the room with her during the appointment.
WellSpan Health senior practice manager Pam Meyer called the woman about one week later. She says that she told WellSpan Health that she wanted to file a formal complaint, but that she felt like she wasn’t taken seriously.
She would later speak with WellSpan Health medical director Betsy Hall, but police said that she “also didn’t seem to provide any helpful information.”
On March 5, 2019, a second woman contacted police to report sexual misconduct involving Dr. Shubhra Ray.
She told police that Ray had fully exposed her breasts during an examination on September 25, 2018. He then “groped each of her exposed breasts,” according to the police.
This woman also filed a complaint with Pam Meyer within two or three days of the alleged sexual assault. According to the woman, Meyer kept saying “I can’t believe this about Dr. Ray, everybody loves Dr. Ray.” The woman would eventually file another complaint with the Pennsylvania Department of State, according to the police.
Police spoke with three WellSpan Health employees on September 3, 2019. The nurse who the first woman confided in, Donalene Gohn, told police that there was a “possible policy” of having a chaperone present in the examination rooms with female patients, but that this policy was not being followed.
Gohn also told police that Dr. Ray is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
Police also spoke with several witnesses who have corroborated the allegations against Dr. Ray.
Attorney contributor Brian Kent represents sexual assault victims and their families, helping them find justice through civil lawsuits. Brian has worked on several cases involving doctors who have sexually assaulted their patients. Here are some of his thoughts on the legal rights of these patients:
Doctors are some of the most trusted members of their communities. No one ever expects that their doctor will egregiously violate this trust by sexually assaulting them during an appointment. But tragically, sexual assault by doctors is a much more common problem than most people realize.
When a patient is sexually assaulted by a doctor, he or she has legal rights. Reporting the assault to the facility, state medical boards, and the police is an important first step. But it’s also usually wise for these victims to consult an experienced sexual assault victims attorney for legal advice.
In many cases, victims of doctor sexual assault may have grounds for a lawsuit against the doctor and potentially the facility where they were assaulted. For example, a medical facility could be held liable in a lawsuit if they had failed to follow safety protocol, such as allowing male doctors to be alone with female patients.
If you or a loved one is a victim of sexual assault by a doctor, you can learn more about your legal rights by speaking with one of our experienced sexual assault victims lawyers in a free consultation.
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