‘We Know We Could Have Done Better’: UCLA Apologizes For How It Handled Allegations Against Former Gynecologist
Dr. James Heaps pleaded not guilty Monday to sexual battery by fraud against two patients in 2017 and 2018. Heaps worked part time at the UCLA student health center from about 1983 to 2010, was hired by UCLA Health in 2014 and held medical staff privileges at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center from 1988 to 2018. University officials first heard complaints about the doctor in 2017, but they were not publicized.
Los Angeles Times:
UCLA Rocked By Charges That Former Staff Gynecologist Sexually Abused Patients
UCLA came under public scrutiny Monday over its handling of a former staff gynecologist who has been charged with sexual battery and exploitation during his treatment of two patients at a university facility. UCLA acknowledged first receiving a complaint against Dr. James Mason Heaps in 2017; he was placed on leave the following year, but the university did not publicize the reason for his departure until this week. That decision is now the subject of an internal review, UCLA said. The university has asked other students and patients who believe they were treated inappropriately by Heaps to come forward. (Cosgrove, Winton, McDonnell and Del Rio, 6/10)
The Associated Press:
Ex-UCLA Gynecologist Pleads Not Guilty To Patient Sex Abuse
A retired gynecologist who worked at the University of California, Los Angeles for decades has pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing two patients and the campus is asking anyone who may have other complaints against him to step forward. Dr. James Heaps pleaded not guilty Monday to sexual battery by fraud against two patients in 2017 and 2018. He also pleaded not guilty to a count of sexual exploitation of a patient and was released without bail. (Jablon, 6/11)
