Ex-childres doctor indicted on sex charges
Prosecutor: Hospital has ‘legal obligation’ to report crimes.
A former pediatric gastroenter
ologist at Dayton Children’s Hospital was indicted Thursday on four counts of gross sexual impo
sition for allegedly touching two female teenage patients’ breasts.
A warrant was issued for Dr. Arun Aggarwal’s arrest. He is scheduled for arraignment on Aug. 31. The charges are fourth-degree felonies. Calls for comment to an attorney who has represented Ag garwal were not returned Thursday.
The incidents allegedly occurred between Dec. 23, 2013 and Nov. 10, 2014. A 2015 investigation by Dayton police concluded with the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office declining to take the case to grand jury because one of the alleged victims wouldn’t testify, according to records obtained by the Dayton Daily News.
Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck said Thursday they reopened the case because additional evidence came out during testimony about the accusation before the state medical board. The board in May revoked Aggarwal’s medical license.
In announcing the charges, Heck said allegations like those made against Aggarwal should be brought to law enforcement immediately.
“When medical personnel commit crimes, especially sex crimes against children, under the guise of medical examination, it must be immediately reported to the police, and they must be held accountable,” he said. “History shows that inaction and failure to report such activity can start a pattern of continuous inappropriate and illegal conduct.”
Aggarwal was employed by Wright State University’s medical school and practiced at Dayton Children’s under a contract between WSU and the hospital.
An investigation by the Dayton Daily News this year found hospital and university administra-
tors opted not to report the allegations against Aggarwal to police. After the first complaint, they issued him a warning. After the second, they set up a policy requiring a nurse or other health professional to be in the room whenever he examined a female patient over the age of 10.
Police learned of the allegations when a Children’s Hospital manager reported it to police on her own.
“This idea of ‘We’ll take corrective measures without reporting it to authorities or ... the Dayton police department or without reporting it to those who are in charge of this hospital’ won’t fly,” Heck said. “Hospitals, doctors are absolutely mandatory reporters; that is a legal obligation.”
When asked if administrators could be charged with not meeting this obligation, Heck said “that is something we have been discussing.”
Dayton Children’s Hospital released a statement Thursday saying they have strengthened their processes in responding to allegations of this nature and have implemented “one of the most stringent chaperone policies in the country.”
“The safety of our patients is our top priority,” the statement says. “We want to assure parents that we will not tolerate any actions which could impact our quality of care or breach the trust placed in us by patients, parents and the community.”
Wright State officials did not return messages left Thursday. They previously declined to comment on the Aggarwal case citing a lawsuit he has pending against the school.
Aggarwal sued Wright State in 2015 alleging wrongful termination. The case is still open, according to federal court records.
Aggarwal told state medical board investigators that his actions were medically necessary as parts of examinations of the two girls. Contact this reporter at 937-328-0374 or email Josh.Sweigart@coxinc.com.