AUDIO – PRISON BOUND? –
Aug. 30, 2024 – Fifteen women have filed a lawsuit alleging an Irvine physician forced them to expose their breasts and, in many instances, groped them under the guise of treatment at UCI Medical Center and a clinic affiliated with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.
The alleged abuse by Dr. John C. Hoefs, a 79-year-old hepatologist, began in 2006 and continued until his arrest in May 2024 for the sexual battery of two female patients at UCI and his Hoag-affiliated Liver Specialty Center in Irvine, according to the suit filed Monday, Aug. 26, in Orange County Superior Court.
Hoefs, who lives in Irvine, was charged in July with the sexual battery of six additional patients. He faces the possibility of more than two decades in prison if convicted on all 20 counts of felony sexual battery.
The 15 unidentified former patients are suing Hoefs, Hoag, the Liver Specialty Center and the Regents of the University of California system for sexual assault, battery, negligent hiring, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and other alleged violations.
