Fake Montco Nurse Makes 1st Court Appearance: DA

ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA —The Philadelphia man accused of sexually assaulting patients while posing as a nurse at an urgent care center made his first court appearance on Friday.

Ramon Garcia, 33, of Philadelphia, waived his preliminary hearing Friday and is being held in custody at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on a combined $240,000 bail, court records state.

Garcia's attorney Paul Lang said the hearing was waived to spare Garcia's victims the trauma of testifying in court, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Last month, 12 more victims came forward, saying that Garcia had sexually assaulted them, authorities said.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy said that 24 felony and misdemeanor criminal charges involving 12 additional victims have been filed against Garcia.

The 24 charges relate to assaulting and harassing women under the guise of performing medical exams or tests at an urgent care facility in Jenkintown, authorities said.

Following Garcia’s arrest, numerous women who had sought medical help at Carbon Health Urgent Care contacted police to share information concerning their encounters with the defendant.

The victims shared information that Garcia, a medical assistant unauthorized to perform any medical exams, had performed two physical exams of the vagina and surrounding areas; performed a hands-on breast exam; watched as patients changed into medical gowns, and in a couple of instances, photographed parts of their bodies; placed victim’s hands on his leg/groin area while drawing their blood; and secretly photographing or videotaping patients in exam rooms or the bathrooms of the medical facility.

Garcia also gave his phone number to multiple patients and made inappropriate comments about them and their bodies.

The charges against Garcia include Aggravated Indecent Assault, Invasion of Privacy, Indecent Assault without Consent, Harassment–Lewd/Lascivious Acts, Impersonating a License Holder (nurse), wiretap violations for the illegal use of his cellphone, and Possessing an Instrument of Crime.