Doctor Shafeeq Sheikh Convicted Of Raping Patient Who Was Hospitalized For Asthma Attack
Former Baylor College of Medicine physician Dr. Shafeeq Sheikh has been sentenced to 10 years of probation for raping a woman who was admitted to Ben Taub Hospital in Houston for asthma. The Houston Chronicle reports that while Dr. Sheikh admitted having sex with the patient, he insisted that it was consensual and that the woman had seduced him. A jury of five women and seven men deliberated for 15 hours before reaching their decision.
The unnamed woman was admitted to the hospital for asthma and was not under the care of Dr. Sheikh when the crime occurred. She said that an unknown man came into her room three times one night and sexually assaulted her. She testified that she was heavily sedated and unable to fight him off and said that she had pushed the button on her bed to call a nurse, but no one had responded.
It was discovered the following morning that the button had been disconnected. Investigators were able to identify Dr. Sheikh as the rapist using DNA from the woman’s rape kit. Evidence also showed that he had swiped his badge to enter her floor at least 12 times. Surveillance video corroborated this version of events, also showing him on the floor. Sheikh’s license has been revoked by the Texas Medical Board who said that he poses “a continuing threat to public welfare.”
Disgraced doctor Shafeeq Sheikh, 46, gets probation (!) for raping sedated female patient he claimed seduced him. More here: https://t.co/0kFbGDRzNV pic.twitter.com/stZ44QwsZt
— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) August 17, 2018
Defense attorneys attacked the woman’s character in an attempt to discredit her as a witness. They stressed her career as an actress and model and pointed to “sexually suggestive” content on her social media accounts. They also provided evidence of lengthy text conversations and phone calls she had participated in during her stay at the hospital, which they believed showed she was more alert than she had led investigators to believe. As further proof that she was not incapacitated as she claimed, the defense provided DNA evidence that proved she had sexual relations with her husband the night she was admitted to the hospital.
Dr. Sheikh testified that the woman moved his hands to her breasts when he was examining her chest. He admitted returning to the room later and described a series of events that ended with them having sexual relations. It was only afterward that Sheikh says he realized the seriousness of what had happened. He said, “It immediately sunk in that something terrible had happened, and I was scared for myself. You’re not supposed to have sex with a patient. That’s part of medical ethics.”
He did not come forward, he said, because he feared the consequences of his actions.
