Following a four-week trial by a King County Superior Court jury in Seattle, Dr. Charles Momah, an obstetrician and gynaecologist was convicted on Wednesday of two counts of rape and two counts of indecent liberties against four women who came to his clinics for treatment.
Momah could face 16 years in prison if convicted on all counts. A sentencing date was not set.Momah pleaded not guilty last year to two counts of rape and two counts of indecent liberties with patients. The verdict, guilty on all charges, came after four days of deliberations.
Prosecutors alleged that Momah performed gynaecological exams without wearing gloves, flirted with and touched patients inappropriately, and probed them unnecessarily with a vaginal ultrasound wand.
Momah, 49, also faces civil lawsuits in which women claim that they were also sometimes deceived into being examined, operated on and sexually fondled by his twin, Dennis Momah, a general practitioner who is not certified in obstetrics and gynaecology. The women assert that the two brothers, who are US citizens born in Nigeria, sometimes switched identities and assaulted them.
The documents also say the obstetrician-gynaecologist prescribed addictive painkillers for no good medical reason, pressured patients into surgeries and double-billed insurance companies for procedures.
In all, more than 50 former patients and employees have sued Momah or contacted police or regulatory agencies to make accusations against him.
Attorneys for Momah asserted the women testifying against him weren't credible, saying one sought drugs from him and another extorted him.
Clinics that Momah operated in Federal Way, Burien and Issaquah are now closed. The state suspended his medical license in 2003.
