LOS ANGELES — A 70-year-old podiatrist who practiced in Torrance has entered no contest pleas for sexually assaulting four of his patients.
Arnold Lee Serkin, 67, of Rancho Palos Verdes entered pleaded no contest yesterday to four felony counts of sexual battery by fraud in case YA085971.
Deputy District Attorney Maren Dermody said Serkin entered the pleas open to the court, which means there was no negotiated plea agreement.
Today, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Steven Van Sicklen of the Torrance Branch sentenced the defendant to five years formal probation, 365 days of community service and one year of sexual compulsion classes.
Serkin also was ordered to stay away from the victims and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Female patients at Serkin’s office were fondled and asked to disrobe during office visits between 2003 and 2009, the prosecutor said. The defendant claimed he was examining the rib area or measuring the patient’s hips when he inappropriately touched them, the prosecutor added.
From Mercury News: A 32-year-old hairstylist tearfully described in court Tuesday how a Torrance podiatrist pulled down her pants and underwear and squeezed her exposed breasts during an exam to obtain shoe inserts to soothe her aching feet.
“He grabbed my shorts and underwear and pulled them down to my knees, completely exposing me,” the hairstylist testified. “I was kind of in shock.”
“He proceeded to touch my breasts and move and squeeze around my breasts,” she said. “He was just saying it showed signs of scoliosis.”
