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Team 10: Woman claims South Bay X-ray tech sexually assaulted her

SYHC internal investigation finds no wrongdoing
Posted at 11:35 PM, Feb 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-03 07:39:56-05

SAN YSIDRO, Calif. - A woman claims her X-ray turned into an X-rated assault at the hands of a South Bay X-ray technician.

Priscilla has had dozens of X-rays since she injured her back in a car crash 15 years ago. She told Team 10 she never was asked to remove her panties, until now.

She said it happened twice at the same clinic, only the first time she says the X-ray tech "checked her out" but did not touch her. The second time, nearly a year and a half later, she said he "violated" her by not only looking at her breasts and backside, but also rubbing his hands along her hips and pressing on her pelvic bone with his fingers.

Priscilla asked that Team 10 not give her last name because of the emotional distress and humiliation she's suffered since the most recent incident. It happened Jan. 3, 2017, at the San Ysidro Health Center on Beyer Avenue.

She went there on doctor's orders to have X-rays of her nose and ribs. The X-ray technician showed her to the changing room.

"He tells me I have to take my clothes completely off, including my panties. I asked him, 'Are you sure the robe has to be open to the front?' And he comes back, 'Yep, opening to the front, clothes completely off,'" said Priscilla.

In the X-ray room, she claims the man opened her gown to look at her breasts and body. Priscilla claims that as she lay on the X-ray table he told her he needed to touch her pubic bone. He placed his fingers on her exposed body and applied pressure 3 to 4 times.

Priscilla told Team 10 she knew what he did was wrong, so she returned to the health center to report the assault. She was assured an internal investigation would be conducted, and three weeks later she received a letter in the mail with the results.

The letter, signed by the Chief of Quality and Advanced Performance Improvement, read, in part: "Based on our investigation, the technician utilized appropriate techniques which comply with applicable standards."

Team 10 spoke to Dr. Maria Carriedo-Ceniceros, vice president and chief medical officer of San Ysidro Health Center. She confirmed no evidence was found that the X-ray technician did anything out of line.

"Our patients and their care are always our top priority and they will continue to be in the future. We really are dedicated to our mission and we provide the most passionate and essential healthcare that we can to the 90,000 patients that we're serving throughout San Diego. I can't emphasize that enough," she said.

Because of privacy laws, Carriedo-Ceniceros could offer no further information about the alleged incidents.

A spokesperson for San Ysidro Health Center told Team 10 no other complaints have been filed against the X-ray technician.

Priscilla's attorney doesn't believe it. John Gomez called the X-ray tech "a creep" who needs to be stopped.

"This isn't the only person he's done this to," Gomez said. "If he's so brazen and so aggressive in his escalation of abuse of this patient then he's doing it to other people."

Gomez filed a $15 million claim against San Ysidro Health Center on Priscilla's behalf. It says she has suffered "severe emotional distress" as the result of the two incidents at the clinic. The documents filed with the U.S. Department of Justice state "SYHC was negligent and acted with callous indifference for the rights and safety of patients."

"The guy is a creep who's taking advantage of largely unsophisticated, perhaps almost exclusively Spanish-speaking, lower-income people that he knows are not going to go to the authorities," Gomez said, adding that the X-ray technician picked the wrong victim when he violated Priscilla.

Gomez went public with the case in the hope that other women who feel they were mistreated by the same X-ray technician will contact him. To reach him, you can email him at john@theGomezFirm.com or call him at (619) 850-2813.

Priscilla said she will never go back.

"Send me somewhere else," she said. "Because I'm not going to have it done (there)."