A former chief of cardiology at the Palo Alto VA Hospital pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of abusive sexual contact, a felony, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, Northern District of California announced.
John Giacomini, 73, of Atherton, subjected a subordinate to unwanted sexual advances over a period of time beginning in the fall of 2017, which the DOJ said culminated on Dec. 20, 2017, when he turned out the lights in a room, pulled the victim from a chair, released the drawstring of her scrubs, and fondled her breasts and other intimate areas. A janitor opened the door and interrupted the contact, prosecutors said.
The woman had “explicitly” told Giacomini on Nov. 10, 2017, that she was not interested in a romantic or sexual relationship with him, prosecutors said.
The victim later resigned from her job, prosecutors said, citing the cardiologist’s behavior as her principal reason for leaving.
Giacomini had previously held a faculty position at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Giacomini’s sentencing is scheduled for July 12. He faces a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, restitution, supervised release, and assessment, according to the DOJ.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.