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Doctor arraigned on sexual assault charges; trial set for October

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A doctor who allegedly sexually assaulted a number of women while they were sedated at a Charleston hospital pleaded not guilty Wednesday to seven criminal counts.

Dr. Steven Matulis

Dr. Steven Matulis, who put his medical license on inactive status in 2016, was arraigned before Kanawha County Circuit Judge Duke Bloom. Bloom scheduled Matulis’ trial for Oct. 1. He’ll be awaiting trial on home confinement if he posts $50,000 cash by the end of the day Wednesday.

The indictment alleges Matulis sexually assaulted or abused five women at Charleston Area Medical Center, according to Putnam County Prosecutor Mark Sorsaia, the special prosecutor in the case.

Matulis was indicted by a Kanawha County grand jury last Friday on five counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse.

Matulis’ counsel, Ben Bailey, said the timing of the alleged acts does not add up.

“The government’s theory — that all of a sudden, in late 2015, he decided to sexually assault a handful of patients in operating suites full of nurses and anesthesiologists and other medical professionals — makes no sense at all,” he said. “That is why he pled not guilty, and we look forward to proving his innocence at trial.”

Matulis, a gastrointerologist, has been under investigation since early 2016 by Charleston police. He also faces a number of civil lawsuits.





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