Surgeon under investigation for sexually assaulting sedated patients in Murcia
Spain's National Police are analysing biological samples found on the coat of doctor David S., suspected of raping at least three patients under sedation at a private hospital in Murcia.
Doctor under investigation in Murcia for alleged sexual assaults on patients in operating theatre
On the morning of 4 December, in operating theatre number two of a well-known private hospital in Murcia, surgeon David S. began preparing for a routine cosmetic surgery procedure. Spain's National Police, according to Ideal, suspect that on that day the professional took advantage of a 52-year-old patient's sedation to rape her. The biological samples found on his surgical coat are now under analysis and could prove decisive in the case.
The operation consisted of breast reconstruction supported by prior liposuction of the thighs. Everything was recorded on video and is under scrutiny by investigators from the Family and Women's Unit (Ufam) of Spain's National Police in Murcia. Specialists from that unit suspect that this assault may not be the only one: the surgeon is already being investigated for alleged sexual assaults on three sedated patients.
Development of the operation
The team that accompanied the doctor that day consisted of two workers from the centre. María—a fictional name—a nurse who had been collaborating with the surgeon for months, told police that she agreed to work with him because she considered him "a good professional" who treated both colleagues and patients well. She was joined by Sara—a fictional name—a nursing assistant who had also participated in multiple previous procedures with doctor S.
Sara was preparing the operating theatre when she observed that the surgeon moved the stretcher from its usual position—vertical, visible from the door—to a horizontal position that made visibility from outside difficult. The workers had not attached importance to this habit until then. "Each surgeon has their own ways and quirks," the nurse said in her statement.
The doctor placed the patient in gynaecological position, with legs raised, to begin liposuction of the thighs. The assistant stated that on this occasion she noticed that the doctor left the patient's entire vaginal area exposed, something she found unusual. She was also struck by the fact that the surgeon instructed her not to insert a catheter into the woman, saying he would do it after completing the liposuction.
The video that became key evidence
María, the nurse, remained for much of the procedure with her back to the doctor, passing him the necessary instruments. At one point, she noticed that Sara was staring at her and making eye gestures. The assistant alerted her to the "continuous pelvic movements" the doctor was making during the operation, movements he would interrupt each time the anaesthetist or other personnel entered the operating theatre.
The nurse also stated that the surgeon offered to go to lunch during the procedure, something that surprised her: he had never made that offer in previous operations, even in longer ones. The assistant, faced with the situation, took out her mobile phone and recorded a video of one minute and 54 seconds that has become fundamental evidence in the investigation.
After disconnecting the liposuction tubes, the doctor remained for approximately another half hour between the patient's legs, in what he described as a touch-up of the procedure. "Through the television screen, which was turned off, I could see everything reflected. The doctor kept moving his pelvis with the patient," the nurse told Ufam officers. "I was uncomfortable and incredulous. It seemed surreal to me."
Details that alerted the witnesses
The nurse highlighted in her statement that the doctor requested lubricant to carry out the liposuction and that he used almost all of the contents of the vial, something the healthcare worker described as "not normal or necessary". After the thigh procedure was completed, the surgeon took a gauze pad and made the gesture of cleaning the patient's genitals, a detail that, the witness acknowledged, left her "paralysed".
The nursing assistant added that, after the liposuction was finished, the doctor concealed himself behind a column in the operating theatre. The nurse said she perceived that he made the gesture of pulling up his pyjama bottoms and that she came to notice that he was wearing red underwear. The worker also stated that the doctor's genitals were more prominent than usual.
Analysis by Ufam
Ufam specialists examined the video recorded by the workers and detailed their conclusions in a police report. The investigation focused on the sequence of movements made by the surgeon during the operation and on the elements that, according to the witnesses, made visibility from outside the operating theatre difficult: the position of the stretcher and the presence of a machine that obstructed the line of sight to the doctor's body for anyone entering through the door.
The biological samples found on doctor David S.'s coat are pending analysis. The results, according to Ideal, could provide decisive evidence in a case that already points to a pattern of behaviour: the surgeon is being investigated for alleged sexual assaults on three patients who were under sedation at the time of the incidents.
Source: Ideal