UCLA Doctor Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Sexual Abuse of Patients
CNN reported on April 26th that James Heaps, a former OB-GYN at the University of California Los Angeles, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexually abusing his patients. He was convicted in October 2022 on five counts of sexual assault related to incidents that occurred between 2009 and the end of his employment at UCLA in 2018.
Court documents revealed that Dr. Heaps had worked as a physician at UCLA from 1983 until his departure. Following his conviction, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón stated that Dr. Heaps had caused immeasurable harm to those he had sworn to care for.
In May 2022, UCLA reached a settlement of $374.4 million with 312 victims who had alleged abuse by Dr. Heaps. Some individuals also criticized the university for not adequately warning the public about the allegations against him.
