Indian American doctor pleads guilty to sexual misconduct

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Indian American Arun Aggarwal, a former doctor at Dayton Children’s Hospital, pleaded guilty to four counts of gross sexual imposition, to which the pediatric gastroenterologist, had previously pleaded not guilty to the allegations of improperly touching the breasts of two teenage female patients.

“Between Dec. 23, 2013, and Nov. 10, 2014, the defendant, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Dayton Children’s Hospital, inappropriately touched teens during medical examinations. The inappropriate touching was not a medically necessary part of the examination,” said Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck in a statement.

According to the Dayton Daily News, Aggarwal is here on a work visa and will voluntarily return to India if he is not deported, after his 10-month sentence, four of which he has already served while awaiting his trial.

“This gives him certainty and ends a very difficult saga in his life and he’s eager to get back to India and move ahead,” said Samuel Shamansky, Aggarwal’s attorney.

According to the court filing, along with the sentence, Aggarwal may also face financial sanctions of up to $5,000 on each count as well as a prison term of 18 months on each count.

The agreement says that he will be a Tier 1 offender, which means that he will be unable to reside within 1,000 feet of a school, preschool or daycare and must register his address every year for the next 15 years.

Aggarwal, 40, was arrested at Dulles International Airport in August when he was allegedly attempting to flee the country after he was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury; he is currently in the Montgomery County jail and is being held on a $500,000 bond.

The Dayton Daily News reports that though Aggarwal practiced at Dayton Children’s Hospital where he was hired in December 2013, he was employed by Wright State University who terminated him in September 2015 after his hospital admitting privileges lapsed during the police investigation.

However, Wright State University was told to pay Aggarwal $91,799 after he sued them for not taking the proper steps when firing him, though the university can appeal the court’s decision.

Aggarwal was also stripped of his medical license last summer by the State Medical Board of Ohio.