SAN MARCOS (NEWS 8) - A 22-year-old San Diego has filed a lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente claiming her dermatologist sexually assaulted her.
The woman identified only as "Jannette Doe" alleges that Dr. Stephan Kempiak sexually assaulted her at his San Marcos office on at least six occasions.
According to the lawsuit, the abuse took place from the summer of 2015 to July 2016.
Attorney Shawn Tillis, who is representing "Jannette Doe", said Doe saw Dr. Kempiak to help treat a painful skin condition near her genital area.
Dr. Kempiak was suppose to help treat an ingrown hair, but instead, according to Doe, on at least six occasions up until July 2016, he would grab and fondle her butt, breasts and private parts.
Doe alleges Dr. Kempiak digitally penetrated her for several minutes and took photographs of her pubic area with his cellphone.
"Apparently, this guy saw that he could take advantage of her, which he happened to be right about. She expected someone else to be in the room if it was going to get that involved. He kept assuring her that everything he was doing was medically necessary," said Tillis.
The complaint alleges that Dr. Kempiak played with Doe's breasts - sometimes rubbing them in a circle - telling her he needed her to "sweat."
"She did request a female doctor because she started to get uncomfortable, and even though she wanted to trust the doctor, she thought 'if it's going to be like this then, at least I want a woman to do it,'" said Tillis.
Jannette Doe alleges the visits got progressively worse, but another female staff member said she should stick with the same doctor.
Tillis said the victim comes from a history of sexual abuse and believes other victims are out there.
According to Tillis, his client became so depressed she almost took her own life.
"But for a suicide hotline operator, she probably would have gone through with it. She was pretty disgusted with herself and she did not want to live at that point," said Tillis.
A statement from Kaiser Permanente said:
"We cannot discuss the details of this matter due to privacy laws. However, regarding these allegations, the physician vehemently denies the accusation. In addition, we have completed an extensive internal investigation, and were unable to substantiate these accusations."
News 8 reached out to Dr. Kempiak, who said he would call back, but as of this writing has not contacted News 8 with a statement or comment.