Former St. Francis doctor accused of sexually assaulting a patient

Editor’s note: The case against Samir Yousef was dismissed. Assistant District Attorney Robin King filed a motion in March 2019 in the Superior Court of Muscogee County stating, “After reviewing medical records and civil case disposition transcripts post indictment, I do not believe the high standard of proof in a criminal trial can be met.” A representative of Yousef told the Ledger-Enquirer, “Dr. Yousef maintains his innocence and is appreciative of the District Attorney’s decision to dismiss the charges against him.”

A New York physician who formerly worked under contract at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus was ordered held on $200,000 bond Tuesday morning on charges he sexually assaulted a female patient.

Muscogee County Superior Court Judge Maureen Gottfried set the bond for Samir Yousef, a resident of Rochester, N.Y., during a hastily called hearing in a near-empty Government Center courtroom.

Yousef is a board certified hospitalist and internalist. He was indicted in August and faces one count of sexual assault of a detainee or a patient at a hospital.

If convicted under Georgia law, Yousef faces from 1 to 25 years in state prison and up to $100,000 fine.

Yousef’s attorney, Doug Peters of Decatur, Ga., maintained his client’s innocence and pleaded for a reduced bond just before deputies took the physician into custody.

“He learned of the indictment when he was detained in the Los Angeles airport,” Peters said. “He was told to check with authorities in Columbus, Ohio. He didn’t run and he didn’t hide. He called Columbus, Ohio. He was then told to call authorities in Columbus, Ga. He didn’t run and he didn’t hide. He called Columbus, Ga. ... He is not a flight risk. This case is going to be tried.”

Gottfried acknowledged the serious nature of the charges in assigning bond and conditions for Youself’s release:

▪ He must surrender his passport

▪ Alert any hospital where he is working of the charges

▪ He cannot be alone in a room with a patient

▪ He can have no contact with the victim

▪ He must report to officials in Columbus weekly of his whereabouts.

Yousef had known of the criminal charge in Columbus since early February when he talked to Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Schwartz via phone.

Schwartz, who said she did not want to try the case during the bond hearing, outlined what Yousef is accused of in the early morning hours of May 4, 2015. The victim has told authorities Yousef touched, pinched and played with her private parts multiple times, Schwartz said. The victim reported the incident to a hospital employee that morning and talked with law enforcement, according to the attorneys.

“He entered her room early that morning with no nurse,” Schwartz said. “He closed the door. ... The video tape shows he was in the room 11 minutes before he emerged. That procedure was not logged in her records and all other contacts with the victim were logged in her records.”

The victim did not attend the nearly 90-minute hearing.

“She is terrified to be in the same room with him,” Schwartz said.

The Egyptian-born Yousef has lived in the United States since 2000 and has been a U.S. citizen since 2010. He works as a contract physician, commonly called a hospitalist, and works at facilities in a number of states. He is licensed in New York, Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina, Peters told the court. Yousef is also a faculty member at the University of Rochester, State University of New York Upstate Medical School in Syracuse and Emory University in Atlanta, Peters said.

Peters read a number of character letters, mostly from those who attend church with Yousef at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Rochester. Yousef is a “celibate deacon” at the church, Peters told the court.

There has also been a civil case filed in the matter, Peters said. The attorneys representing Yousef in the civil litigation helped arrange for Peters to represent Yousef in the criminal case, Peters said.

Peters pointed to the victim’s medical records, which he said he obtained Monday from the attorneys representing Yousef in the civil case. He said those records indicate the woman was on six different drugs and diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Order, all of which could have caused her to imagine an incident that did not happen and insinuated to the court it did not make her credible.

Schwartz countered that three of the drugs were prescribed in the hospital and likely by Yousef.

This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Former St. Francis doctor accused of sexually assaulting a patient."