EAST ST. LOUIS — A Fayette County woman is suing a doctor for allegedly sexually assaulting her during a physical exam.
Mary Hake filed a complaint on April 13 in the U.S.District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Shabbir Safdar, who practices in Mt. Vernon.
According to the complaint, Hake was a long-time patient of the defendant and visited Safdar for a physical exam on April 27, 2015. She claims that during the visit, the doctor in an inappropriate and aggressive manner requested the plaintiff to expose her breasts. He then allegedly proceeded to fondle the plaintiff’s breasts with his hands while forcing his mouth onto her nipples.
Immediately following the inappropriate conduct, Safdar allegedly exposed his penis to Hake and thrust it in her direction in a provocative and sexually harassing manner.
Hake alleges Safdar has admitted to committing these intentional acts of assault and battery.
As a result, Hake claims she suffered emotional distress, loss of normal life and trauma.
The plaintiff alleges Safdar failed to perform his duty as a medical doctor and conduct himself properly during a physical examination, forced himself onto plaintiff in an aggressive manner.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgmentfor a sum, together with punitive damages, in excess of $75,000, costs of suit and for such other relief as the court deems just and proper.
She is represented by John R. Schneider of Johnson, Schneider and Ferrell LLC in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:17-cv-00389