Urgent-care worker who posed as a nurse and sexually assaulted women at a Jenkintown clinic is seeking ‘redemption,’ lawyer says

A Crescentville man who prosecutors say groped, spied on, and sexually assaulted 11 women while posing as a nurse at an urgent care clinic in Jenkintown is prepared to accept responsibility for his actions, his lawyer said Friday.

Ramon Garcia, 33, has been charged with aggravated indecent assault, impersonating a licensed professional, invasion of privacy, harassment, and related crimes for targeting patients at Carbon Health Urgent Care, where he worked as a medical assistant. The assaults took place between November and Garcia’s arrest on March 11, authorities said.

On Friday, Garcia waived a preliminary hearing at which prosecutors would have been required to establish probable cause that he committed the crimes. His attorney, Paul Lang, said Garcia decided to forgo the hearing to spare his accusers the trauma of testifying and that he viewed that as “the first step in [his] path to redemption.”

“He is aware of what he’s accused of. We’re looking forward to getting him evaluated to explain the aberrations in his otherwise crime-free life,” Lang said of Garcia, a father of six.

Assistant District Attorney Lauren Marvel said Garcia used his position as a medical assistant, and the implied credibility that comes with that, to assault the women for his sexual gratification.

“It’s an incredibly hard situation for someone to be in, when they’re at a medical facility and they’re talking to someone who, because of the position they’re in, is in a position of trust,” Marvel said. “And this defendant preyed on women’s ability and desire to trust people in the medical profession.”

Garcia’s behavior came to light in March, when a woman told Abington Township Police he assaulted her when she went to Carbon Health for a preemployment drug screening, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. Garcia, a front-desk worker, told the woman he had to watch while she urinated into a cup, the affidavit said. He then asked her out on a date and gave her his phone number, according to the document.

Days later, a second woman who had gone to the clinic reported that Garcia had told her he was a nurse and performed a pelvic exam on her, the affidavit said. Afterward, she said, he flirted with her and asked if she had a boyfriend and had “any fantasies.”

Prosecutors said Friday that Garcia is not a registered nurse, and is not authorized to perform exams on patients.

Garcia was arrested, and later additional women came forward to report similar abuse: Some said Garcia presented himself as a nurse and asked them to undress in front of him while asking about their personal lives and asking them on dates. Others said Garcia groped them during examination and touched their breasts, buttocks or genitals.

While investigating those complaints, police discovered evidence on Garcia’s phone that he had secretly recorded one woman using the bathroom during a drug screening, and taken a picture of another woman while she was wearing only a medical gown, according to the affidavit.

Garcia remained in custody Friday, in lieu of a combined $249,000 bail, court records show.