For more than a decade, Ricardo Cruciani has built a reputation as a talented and respected physician who can relieve chronic pain when other doctors cannot.
But then a flurry of alarming claims began to emerge: Dozens of patients accused him of sexually abusing them during exams after he administered a sometimes dangerously high dose of the drug to maintain control over them, prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a court filing this month. . When they resist, he keeps their prescription.
On Friday, a jury found Cruciani guilty of 12 counts of predatory sexual assault, sexual abuse, rape and other counts, after about three days of deliberation. Cruciani’s month-long trial centered on the stories of six women he treated around 2012 at Beth Israel Medical Center, now known as Mount Sinai Beth Israel, in Union Square and other institutions headquarters in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement Friday that Cruciani, 68, violated the public’s trust in healthcare workers by abusing his power over the patient. and deliberately take advantage of their pain.
“Dr. Cruciani has left him with six survivors who continue to suffer from debilitating illness, and now traumatic years,” said Mr. Bragg. “While we were never able to expose his horrific actions, I hope this conviction will serve as a measure of justice.”
Fred Sosinsky, Cruciani’s attorney, said in a statement Friday that he believes the trial court made “several legal errors” and he plans to appeal the ruling.
“It seems like the collective weight of six accusers, rather than a fair consideration of each of their problematic accounts,” Mr. Sosinsky said.
Cruciani’s case represents a stark example of how powerful health professionals can take advantage of flawed surveillance systems and escape punishment for crimes.
Others have faced similar high-profile claims in recent years, including Larry Nassarformer U.S. women’s gymnastics team doctor, and Robert E. AndersonThe University of Michigan doctor died in 2008 and has been accused of sexual abuse by hundreds of football players and other students.
Prosecutors and witnesses told jurors during the trial that Cruciani’s advances often began gradually. He would hug the patient or run his fingers through their hair. But over time, his behavior escalated: doctors groped women, kissed them without permission and forced them to perform sexual acts or intercourse, prosecutors said.
Reports of Mr Cruciani’s misconduct date back more than 15 years. Medical ethics prohibits sexual relations between doctors and patients. But administrators at some hospitals ignored reports of misconduct against Cruciani, from Pennsylvania, and allowed him to quietly take on new roles in other positions or states. , as alleged in several lawsuits.
He was arrested in 2017 on charges including assault and indecent contact. But he avoided jail time after reaching a plea agreement that required him to surrender a medical license and register as a low-level sex offender.
At his trial in Manhattan, prosecutors told jurors it was time to hold the doctor accountable. For years, prosecutors say, he followed a similar pattern in each abuse case: He forged a personal relationship with his patients, questioned them about their upbringing, their relationships and personal lives, and would then begin to sexually assault them.
When the patient returned, he increased their dosage or started prescribing new drugs and became more brazen in his behavior, prosecutors said.
Some of his patients developed drug addiction. A woman said to The New York Times last yearFor example, as her dependence on the drug increased, Mr. Cruciani became more aggressive, groping her, masturbating in the room with her and forcing her to perform oral sex on him.
In his final argument, Mr. Sosinsky, Mr. Cruciani’s lawyer, argued that his accusers were untrustworthy, Associated Press reported. “You should have every reason to doubt these accusations,” Mr. Sosinsky told jurors.
Mr Cruciani is expected to be sentenced on September 14 and could face life in prison. He also still faces a state lawsuit in New Jersey and federal fees in Manhattan luring a woman across the state border for the purpose of illegal sexual activity could increase his time behind bars.
On Friday, several survivors praised the ruling and said it would help them continue their healing.
“Finally vindicated, finally knowing that this man would never hurt another, finally knowing that I can sleep at night – it’s a great relief,” Hillary Tullin speak.
During the trial, Ms Tullin testified that she sought Mr Cruciani’s help about two decades ago because of chronic pain that other doctors struggled to diagnose. But he quickly started calling her at home and telling her he was thinking about her. Once, she said, he grabbed her face and forcibly kissed her.
She said she was “so happy” at the verdict, and cried when she first received the news. She says that the emotional and mental wounds from her experiences will never go away. But, she hoped that they would slowly recede from her mind.
“I have been through a lot of counseling and trauma therapy,” she said, “I don’t think it will be until I receive this verdict that I can finally say, I can start healing. I can start trying to remake my life.”
