Report from The Times on NJ.com
In tearful testimony yesterday, a 24-year-old patient of a Hamilton psychiatrist said that her doctor had kissed her abdomen with an open mouth and put his hand down her pants.
Dr. Alvaro Argueta, 66, of Yardley, Pa., is charged with one count of criminal sexual contact in the Dec. 7, 2006, incident, said Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Downing.
The woman, a resident of Langhorne, Pa., said she began treatment with Argueta for depression, insomnia and severe headaches after her grandmother, who was also his patient, recommended him. She testified she thought it strange that he kissed her at the end of each visit. She testified that on the day in question, he began to kiss and touch her in inappropriate ways.
"I was frozen," she said. "He kept saying, how beautiful I was."
She testified that at one point he grabbed her face and tried to kiss her but she pulled away.
"Then he went back behind his desk like nothing happened," she said. Argueta handed her some prescriptions and she said she left in a daze.
Before that visit the woman, whose name is being withheld by The Times, bought Argueta a Christmas card and statuette of a saint as a present because he had helped her so much with her headache pain.
She testified that after the incident, she walked out to her car, threw up, then drove away but realized she had not given him the gift. So she returned and handed the gift bag to the receptionist, saying she was in shock and denial.
About a month later, after talking with her parents and grandparents, the woman reported the alleged incident to Hamilton police. The woman played a cell phone message from Argueta for Detective Frederick Moore.
"I spoke with your grandmother and, well, (I am) very sorry for all that happened today and to hear that I don't have any excuse," Argueta said on the message, which was played for the jury.
Working with Mercer County Detective Brian Cottrell, the woman called Argueta back. He was with a patient but returned her call within minutes and that conversation was recorded.
In that phone call, which was played in court, Argueta, who was raised in Guatemala and speaks with an accent, said: "I want to ask you your forgiveness. It was something. I don't have words to express how sorry I have been. Christmas and the holidays have been very, very painful."
He continued, "I'm real sorry that that happened and poor judgment on my part."
Argueta also asked her to forgive him as a Christian.
The woman's 73-year-old grandmother, a Hamilton resident, testified that her granddaughter, who was distraught after the office visit with Argueta, drove to her home for solace.
Argueta also testified yesterday and admitted he kissed the woman's stomach but said it was be cause she told him she was fat. He said he put his hand on her stomach as well, but said he stopped immediately, realizing he had gone beyond normal boundaries.
Argueta said the woman suffered from bipolar disorder, borderline personality and post traumatic stress disorder from an abusive relationship with a boyfriend.
His defense lawyer, Lawrence Popp, told the jury in his opening argument the accuser is "emotionally troubled" and his client had nothing to hide.
"He is a man of intelligence and character," Popp said. "He dedicated his life to the mentally troubled."
Argueta's testimony is expected to continue when the trial, before Superior Court Judge Charles A. Delehey, resumes today.
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