PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Jenkintown urgent care employee accused of posing as a nurse and sexually assaulting 11 women has waived his preliminary hearing. His lawyer says he’s accepting responsibility and is working toward redemption.
On March 11, 33-year-old Ramon Garcia was arrested and charged after one woman said he watched her urinate in a cup for a work-related drug test.
A little over a week later, another woman came forward saying he told her he was a nurse and inappropriately touched her during a pelvic exam.
About a dozen more women came forward in April, saying he lied to them about his title, watched them change, performed hands-on examinations of intimate body parts, asked them out on dates, and secretly took pictures and videos of them in exam rooms and the urgent care bathroom.
He was charged with multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault, invasion of privacy, and impersonating a medical professional.
Prosecutor Lauren Marvel says he used his job to touch and grope these women “under the guise of medical treatment, but it was for his sexual gratification.”
Marvel noted the courage of Garcia’s accusers for being willing to come forward, and the waiver of the preliminary hearing spared them from having to testify.
Prosecutor Marot Weitz echoed a similar sentiment.
“It's incredibly powerful that the women in this case have been able to have the courage to come forward and talk about that and talk about the struggle of coming forward, recognizing that something was done to them — that it was a crime — and being willing to tell their story,” said Weitz.
Garcia’s lawyer, Paul Lang, says it’s early in the process, but he is working toward taking responsibility.
“He's a father of six. He has never been in trouble before in his life. And he is going to be working on these issues in his life,” Lang said.
A formal arraignment is scheduled for June 12 in Norristown.