True crime Friday: Fabio Ortega, M.D., Serial Assaulter and Registered Sex offender

Did you know women and girls have to decide how they should dress not to attract unwanted attention? Did you know women have to decide if they will live on a second or third floor apartment as opposed to a downstairs apartment for safety reasons? Did you know that women have to be careful where they park or if they should go run an errand at night because of unwanted attention? Did you know women and girls have to be weary of repairmen men, maintenance men and delivery men? Did you know that every woman has received unwanted attention just because she is a woman? Did you know that grown men will flirt with girls as young as ten? Women and girls just are not safe in this male dominated world. Which leads me to today’s crime story.

Fabio Ortega, M.D.

Dr. Fabio Ortega 77, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two patients in October 2021. Ortega is now a registered sex offender and was sentenced to three years in prison and has been on parole since October 2022. Although, Ortega was charged with assaulting two patients, he and the hospital where he was employed have been sued by at least 300 women. According to the civil lawsuit it details alleged sex abuse stemming back to the early 1990s. The hospital failed to intervene and to be honest some of the details are quite disturbing.

The Early Childhood of Fabio Ortega

I did not find any information regarding Ortega’s child hood. Obviously, he has a low opinion of women and girls to have committed such vile acts.

The Swedish and North Shore Hospital

“The Swedish and North Shore Facilities enabled a sexual predator to abuse hundreds of women for numerous decades," said Parker Stinar, an attorney and founding partner at Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley that are representing the victims/survivors of the abuse of this doctor regarding his patient's. Ortega worked at what was then known as Swedish Covenant Hospital between approximately 1989 and 2007. During that time, he had "a pattern or practice of disguising his sexual abuses as necessary medical care through a variety of techniques." Per the lawsuit of the 300 victims/survivors.

Ortega was a sexual predator who targeted young women who did not have experience with gynecological examinations. He targeted Spanish-speaking patients, pregnant women, Medicare patients, and the underserved patient population because he knew that patients from these populations were less likely to understand that they were being sexually abused. He is accused of sexually abusing girls as young as seven years old!

It was said that, Ortega would visit or call his patients outside of work and it was not a professional call or visit. He wanted to talk and to have sex with is patients. It was said that he had a habit of not treating patients for conditions presented, falsified records, encouraged unnecessary appointments, conducted unnecessary pelvic exams, and asked patients intrusive questions about their sex life.

One of the employees of the hospital reported to her supervisor that Ortega was making the female patients and the nurses feel uncomfortable with his exams. The lawsuit said despite the dangers Ortega posed to patients, North Shore and Swedish continued to present him to the public as a skilled and trustworthy gynecologist. The complaints were ignored and the sexual abuse was allowed to continue.

Women were ignored when they reported that Ortega's examinations felt more sexual than medical. The hospital ignore the reports because the women did not have the medical expertise to know one way or the other. Women reported Ortega again and again to no avail. The women were met with not only disbelief by Swedish and North Shore, they were told to question their own experiences as women.

There was a woman that had gone to see Dr. Ortega because she had been raped. She found herself in Dr. Ortega's office in 2016, because she required a rape kit. She had just been raped, and she was able to muster the strength to seek medical treatment. North Shore provided her with Dr. Ortega. In that appointment, Dr. Ortega would conduct a vaginal examination where he attempted to sexually stimulate her with involved fingers.

He would conduct a breast examination where he fondled her for no medical purpose. It is a miracle that this woman still managed to walk outside of that medical examination room and ask the front desk if what happened to her was medically necessary. The staff at North Shore told her that's how he is and therefore, it is normal.

Endeavor Health Hospital

A spokesperson for Endeavor Health said the health system could not respond to direct questions about the case due to pending legal matters and patient privacy, but did release this statement:

"As a healthcare provider, there is nothing more important than providing a safe and trusted environment for our patients, community and team members. It's a responsibility we take very seriously. We have absolutely no tolerance for abuse of any kind.

"We recognize the tremendous strength and courage it takes for survivors of abuse to come forward. We believe trust is earned, and we will always look for opportunities to demonstrate our commitment to the highest standards of safety and quality in our care. We have enhanced and continue to improve and evolve our processes and policies to ensure we have an environment that supports reporting of threatened or actual abuse. Our policies require we investigate all allegations of abuse that are reported to us, take prompt action in all matters and fully cooperate with law enforcement.

"We have focused on reviewing individual claims and are committed to engaging in a process that allows for meaningful review and response to each person impacted.

"Due to pending legal matters and patient privacy, we are unable to comment on any specific case or allegations."

The System Failed Again

Ortega was allowed to continue to practice medicine unsupervised while the criminal investigation that landed him in jail continued. During that time, he is accused of sexually abusing even more female patients who are represented in the lawsuit. A woman said, she felt the hospitals did not care about Spanish or women or Latinas. As a woman from Mexico who spoke to NBC News. “You teach your kids to be careful when they go out. You know, to not walk alone, to get in a car with strangers. But how can you prevent this, tell them be afraid of your doctor?

Lady Justice or Lady Injustice

The Illinois Department of Corrections said Ortega was placed on mandatory supervised release, or parole, on Oct. 28, 2022, and was discharged from parole on Oct. 27, 2023. Ortega's medical license was revoked, and he can no longer practice medicine.

Reference

Doctor Accused Of Sexual Assault - Search News (bing.com)

OB/GYN abused 300 patients as hospital failed to intervene, lawsuit alleges (msn.com)

300 women join lawsuit filed against Chicago-area health system after gynecologist accused of sexual abuse (msn.com)