Physician convicted of sexual assault on patients

MURRIETA - A doctor who sexually assaulted multiple female patients in Temecula was convicted today of 25 felony and misdemeanor charges, while jurors acquitted him of two counts of rape and deadlocked on several other allegations.

A Murrieta jury weighed evidence from the trial of 45-year-old John Francis McGuire of Escondido for three days before announcing verdicts.

The 30 charges against him included forcible rape, sexual battery of a restrained person, attempted sexual assault of an unconscious person and committing sexual acts on patients in violation of the California Business & Professions Code.

Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Jess Walsh said that a decision is pending on whether the District Attorney's Office intends to retry McGuire on one count each of rape and sexual battery -- on which jurors split evenly, unable to reach unanimous decisions.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Gallon scheduled a status conference for April 21 at the Southwest Justice Center. McGuire is being held without bail at the Southwest Detention Center.

According to a trial brief filed by Walsh, sheriff's detectives began an investigation in August 2015 after a woman, identified only as "D.A.,''

alleged that she had been inappropriately touched by the defendant on several occasions following surgery at Temecula Valley Hospital.

D.A. told detectives that the encounters occurred in April 2015, when McGuire performed post-op examinations, according to court papers. Walsh alleged that the doctor repeatedly touched the woman's vagina, saying he was concerned about a "rash.''

McGuire is an ear, nose and throat specialist.

According to the prosecution, the woman checked herself and determined there was no rash.

After speaking with her family about what had happened, she confronted McGuire, who "apologized'' for his behavior in a conversation that was secretly taped, assuring her that he "had been tested for STDs'' and was not a health risk, Walsh wrote.

After sheriff's investigators heard the tape and interviewed McGuire, the doctor was arrested. Walsh said other alleged victims emerged following media reports regarding the defendant's arrest.

One of the nine women who came forward included McGuire's former housekeeper, identified only as "M.Q.,'' who alleged that she had been forcibly raped on two separate occasions while under the defendant's employ. Jurors found the doctor not guilty of those charges.

A patient identified as "T.M.'' told investigators that McGuire fondled her breasts during three separate visits, which caused her concern, but not enough to stop going back to see the doctor, who "had actually helped her with the medical problems that she was suffering from,'' Walsh stated.

During a visit in April 2015, the victim was allegedly pushed face-first over an office chair and raped until she was able to break free from McGuire and run out of his office, according to the brief. Jurors hung on verdicts related to that alleged attack.

The other victims alleged that McGuire consistently found reasons to grope their breasts during exams, court papers stated. One of the women said that she was assaulted while in a surgical recovery room, virtually immobilized, according to court papers.

According to the California Medical Board, McGuire has been a practicing otolaryngologist since 2005. He graduated from the Georgetown University School of Medicine two years earlier.

State records show the defendant's license to practice medicine was suspended on Sept. 21, 2015.