A former patient of podiatrist Matthew Sciaroni testified Tuesday that she believed the Fresno foot doctor was telling the truth when he said he had to touch her crotch and breasts to check for infections that could have spread from her foot.
The woman, who said she was as young as 13 when the touching began, said the examinations made her feel uncomfortable but she never questioned Sciaroni's intentions until years later.
"It bothered me, but he said he was checking for infections," the woman testified. "He explained himself and I believed him."
The woman also said that some of the touching was done in the presence of her mother and younger sister.
The Bee is not identifying the woman because she is an alleged victim of sexual assault.
Sciaroni, 53, is on trial in Fresno County Superior Court facing nine charges, including child molestation and sexual battery. He was arrested in April 2007 after the woman who testified Tuesday told police about the incidents.
Sciaroni, who has practiced medicine since 1986, was investigated in 2000 by the California Department of Consumer Affairs, which issues licenses for doctors, dentists, contractors and others. He was accused of improper contact with patients and was placed on probation for five years. As a condition of his probation, Sciaroni was required to have a monitor in the room whenever he examined a patient.
Prosecutor Galen Rutiaga said he expects five victims to testify in the trial. If convicted, Sciaroni faces up to seven years in prison.
Sciaroni's defense attorney, Steven Smith, said his client never touched the woman's breasts. He said the examinations of her crotch were "annual node exams" and a "necessary medical practice."
The woman testified that she and four other members of her family would often visit Sciaroni's office whenever they had toenail infections. She said that during almost every visit, Sciaroni would feel the underside of her knee even though her pain was only in her toe.
On five or six occasions, she said, Sciaroni would ask her to unzip her pants and he would touch her crotch area.
"He said that the infection could come through my lymph nodes and eventually work its way up," the woman testified.
On two of those occasions, Sciaroni said he had to check for infections in her breasts and he put his hand under her shirt, she said. According to an arrest warrant, the woman told investigators that Sciaroni always used medical jargon to explain his actions.
"He was pressing, pinching and moving in a circular motion," the woman testified. "It was nasty, but I believed him. What he said to me made sense and I really believed he was checking for infections."
The woman said that both times Sciaroni touched her breasts, her mother was in the room. After the second time, her mother told her that she didn't like what Sciaroni was doing. Nevertheless, the woman returned to see Sciaroni.
The woman said that during half of her visits there were no other office staff in the room during her examinations. She said she didn't know Sciaroni was on probation and was required to have a monitor during patient visits.
During a visit in February 2006, when the woman was 19, Sciaroni invited her to his office where he hugged her and tried to kiss her, the woman said. When she tried to get away and leave his office, Sciaroni grabbed her hand and tried to kiss her again, she said.
A few days later she called police.
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