Fifteen Women Sue California Doctor Relating to Criminal Sex Abuse Charges

A California doctor is being sued by 15 women who accuse him of sexual assault.

Dr. John Carl Hoefs, a 79-year-old hepatologist based in Irvine, Orange County, is named along with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, the UC Regents, and the Liver Specialty Center.

The doctor is accused of sexually assaulting and harassing more than a dozen women who came seeking liver treatment, according to ABC7.

Hoefs was previously accused of groping two female patients’ breasts during examinations, in 2016 and 2020, and faced seven felony counts for sexual battery according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, as reported by The Los Angeles Times.

According to ABC7, a plaintiff listed as Jane Doe 1 said, “His conduct was unlike any I’ve ever experienced by a doctor. It was so disturbing that I reported him to the California Medical Board in October 2017.”

The civil lawsuit states that Hoefs “took advantage of his patients’ ignorance of the proper administration of hepatology examinations to manipulate and molest his patients for his own lewd sexual interests and sexual gratification,” according to the outlet.

The lawsuit also alleges that staff members at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, the UC Regents, and the Liver Specialty Center failed to report or stop the incidents from occurring, according to ABC7.

Morgan Stewart, an attorney with Manly, Stewart & Finaldi who represents the plaintiffs, said, “He was intentionally having patients disrobe. He was intentionally fondling them, grabbing them, molesting them during the course of medical treatment with no medically probable reason,” as reported by ABC7.

Stewart alleged that there were reports to the medical board and to other physicians notifying them of the doctor’s inappropriate behavior, as reported by ABC7.

Hoef was arrested in May for the previous charges of sexual battery by fraud and was released after posting a $500,000 bond as reported by ABC7.

If he is convicted, he will face more than 20 years in prison according to ABC7.

The Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian told ABC7 that it is disheartened by the allegations and that Hoefs is not employed by the hospital, but rather works for an independent practice from a leased space.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office requested the public’s help in identifying other alleged victims of Hoefs in a press release in May.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer made a statement and said, “Sexual predators come in all forms and in all walks of life – even ones wearing white doctors’ coats. Women seeking potentially life-saving medical treatment should not be subjected to sexual abuse by the medical professional they have entrusted with their lives. This blatant abuse of trust will not be tolerated.”

Newsweek reached out to Hoefs and his attorney, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, the UC Regents, and the Liver Specialty Center for comment.

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