As a Placentia-Linda Hospital anesthesiologist is arraigned today in Santa Ana on charges of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl and 36-year-old woman who were unconscious, authorities are asking other possible victims to come forward. Yashwant Balgiri Giri worked at other Orange County and Southern California hospitals over the years.
The 58-year-old Cypress resident could get up to eight years in state prison if convicted of the current charges against him. But, if the allegations are true, he is not the only one who should be up on charges.
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A nurse who witnessed the first attack informed her Placentia-Linda Hospital superiors,
who apparently did nothing before the second attack was reported,
according to prosecutors.
The Orange County District Attorney's office statement below lays out the case against Giri:
May 5, 2011
ANESTHESIOLOGIST CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY ASSAULTING TWO UNCONSCIOUS FEMALE PATIENTS
*The OCDA is seeking the public's help in identifying potential additional victims
SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney's (OCDA) Office has
filed charges against an anesthesiologist for sexually assaulting two
female patients while they were unconscious. Yashwant Balgiri Giri, 58,
Cypress, was charged yesterday, May 4, 2011, with one felony count each
of sexual battery on an institutionalized victim for Jane Doe #1 and
sexual penetration by foreign object of an unconscious victim for Jane
Doe #2. The defendant was arrested in Cypress today, May 5, 2011, by the
Placentia Police Department (PPD), who investigated this case. If
convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison.
Giri is being held on $100,000 bail and is expected to be arraigned
tomorrow, May 6, 2011, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The
time is to be determined.Giri is an anesthesiologist at the Placentia-Linda Hospital. Giri has
worked at other hospitals in Southern California including Lakewood
Regional Medical Center, Anaheim Regional Medical Center, West Anaheim
Medical Center, and Western Medical Center, Anaheim.Between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2009, Giri is accused of
administering anesthesia to 16-year-old Jane Doe #2 while she was
unconscious from medication. He is accused of digitally penetrating the
victim while a scrub nurse was preparing the surgery tools with her back
turned. The nurse witnessed the sexual assault and immediately reported
the incident to a director at the Placentia-Linda Hospital. The
hospital failed to report the incident to police at that time.On March 18, 2011, Giri is accused of fondling the breasts of
36-year-old Jane Doe #1 while she was unconscious under anesthesia
during an outpatient surgery procedure. A hospital employee, who had
looked into the operating room window to see how the surgery was
progressing, witnessed Giri fondling the victim's breast continuously
while the procedure was taking place. Giri is accused of fondling the
victim's breasts for an extended period of time while a tarp concealed
him from the surgeon and nurse who were working near her legs. The
hospital employee reported the sexual assault to a hospital director and
PPD was contacted. Shortly after PPD began their investigation, Giri
resigned. During the investigation into the sexual assault of Jane Doe
#1, PPD learned of the unreported sexual assault of Jane Doe #2 a year
earlier.Due to the defendant's work history, the OCDA is seeking the public's
help identifying potential additional victims. Anyone with additional
information or who thinks they have been a victim is encouraged to
contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Lou Gutierrez at
(714) 347-8794.Deputy District Attorney Nicole Nicholson of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.