Psychiatrist Accused of Molesting Woman

From WXIA-TV 11 in Atlanta

A woman who sought medical help for "anxiety issues" was given an appointment with a psychiatrist who, she reported to police last week, sexually assaulted her during his consultation with her.

Now police are saying that the psychiatrist may have also molested additional patients, under the guise of performing physical exams.

Lawrenceville police arrested the psychiatrist, Dr. Mohammad Uzair Qureshi, on Friday, charging him with one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual battery.

Since then, "we've had two more victims come forward that were victimized by Dr. Qureshi," popularly known as "Dr. Q," said Lawrenceville Police Captain Greg Vaughn.

According to the police incident report, the 43 year old woman had gone to Gwinnett Rockdale Newton Community Service Board, or "GRN," on Gwinnett Drive near Scenic Highway in Lawrenceville, last Thursday, "to consult with a physician about anxiety issues."

The doctor who saw her was Dr. Qureshi who, she complained, "conducted what she felt was an unnecessary breast exam" during her first and only appointment with him.

The report says "Dr. Qureshi unexpectedly grabbed her left wrist for what she assumed was done to check her pulse. She then stated that Dr. Qureshi asked her to pull up her shirt" and "reveal her breast from her bra. At which point, Dr. Qureshi began touching both of her breast [sic]."

The woman immediately complained, and GRN called police.

"There's no reason in the world," Capt. Vaughn said Monday, "that a psychiatrist would need to take a female top off to do some type of examination."

Dr. Qureshi was released over the weekend on a bond of $33,200 as police intensified their investigation of him.

Capt. Vaughn said detectives are checking out the complaints of the two women who came forward following Dr. Qureshi's arrest, and that the doctor may face additional charges.

The address that Dr. Qureshi gave police when he was arrested is an apartment complex off of Lawrenceville Highway, just west of Lawrenceville. An employee of the complex said Dr. Qureshi has moved out. 11Alive News was unable to reach Dr. Qureshi by telephone for comment.

GRN released a statement Monday that Dr. Qureshi "was not an employee of GRN, but was an independent contractor supplied to GRN by a private company that provides psychiatric services" to GRN.

The statement goes on to say that the medical director of that company talked with Dr. Qureshi about the complaint and then fired him.

A check of the state medical board website shows that there have been no medical board investigations of Dr. Qureshi in Georgia and no disciplinary actions taken against him in Georgia.

But Lawrenceville police are asking women who believe "Dr. Q." had inappropriate physical contact with them during an appointment, but have remained silent about it, to call Lawrenceville police.

"This man is a doctor," said Capt. Vaughn. "And we all trust our doctors. And we all listen to them. So Dr. Qureshi was, obviously, he could convince these ladies that they needed some other type of exam" and they may not have realized, at first, Vaughn said, that the physical exam was not part of a psychiatrist's normal procedure.