A Northern California dentist is going to jail and will lose his license after being convicted of groping eight female patients, including a 14-year-old girl, according to news reports.
Benva Lazar, D.M.D., 57, who operated a practice in South San Jose, was arrested in August after the girl told police he had fondled her breasts, according to a story in the San Jose Mercury News. He ultimately pleaded no contest to sexual battery by fraud, a felony.
In April, Lazar pleaded no contest to six misdemeanor battery charges that were not sex-related as part of a plea bargain with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. A 23-year-old patient said Dr. Lazar had touched her breasts at his office after telling her he was screening for cancer. Dr. Lazar told police he was checking patients' lymph nodes and telling them about the importance of mammograms.
In six related cases, dating to 2008, women ages 23 to 49 told police similar accounts of incidents in which Dr. Lazar said he was concerned about their health before he gave them his own version of a breast exam and touched them inappropriately over or under their shirts, court papers allege. They were in Lazar's chair when the dentist emphasized the importance of regular mammograms, according to court documents. In one case, a patient looked "concerned," according to the charges, but a hygienist mollified the woman by saying it was "OK, they were doing a more extensive exam."
Dr. Lazar was sentenced January 28 to less than a year in county jail. However, he must register as a sex offender following his release, meaning he will lose his dental license permanently.
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