Doctor With Mercer Co. Practice Charged With Patient Sex Abuse

Princeton NJ

21 October, 2021

10:02 AM

Description

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — A doctor who practiced in Mercer County was charged in connection with sexually abusing pain management patients in three states over 15 years, according to Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. According to an indictment, Dr. Ricardo Cruciani enticed and induced multiple victims to travel to his medical offices in Hopewell, New Jersey, New York, New York, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he sexually abused them. Cruciani was arrested Wednesday morning on federal charges. The indictment explains how Cruciani would withhold pain medication, including opioids so that he could sexually abuse his patients, who suffered from severe and chronic pain. In order for them to obtain prescription refills, victims had to travel to his medical offices and other locations for in-person appointments, the indictment said. The doctor, 63, also developed personal relationships with victims, prescribing addictive pain medication and causing them to become dependent on him, said the indictment. "Doctors like the defendant take an oath to do no harm. It is difficult to imagine conduct more anathema to that oath than exploiting patients' vulnerability in order to sexually abuse them," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "As alleged, Ricardo Cruciani's sexual abuse involved developing personal relationships with victims to engender trust, and prescribing addictive pain medication that caused his patients to become dependent on him as he engaged in a course of increasingly abusive conduct. The alleged pattern of abuse in this case is outrageous, and Cruciani now faces federal charges for it." Cruciani of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, is charged with five counts of enticing and inducing individuals to travel interstate to engage in illegal sexual activity, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, Williams said. Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email [email protected] Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.