A doctor at a California women’s prison has been accused of carrying out ‘sadistic’ sexual abuse against six inmates – the twisted allegations including forceful penetration and permanent disfigurement, as well as groping – during rough medical examinations.
Dr. Scott Lee, 70, allegedly abused female prisoners at the California Institution for Women in Chino over a seven-year period, according to a civil lawsuit brought by the inmates and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners.
In the civil complaint, obtained by DailyMail.com, the prisoners claim they were forcefully penetrated during unnecessary and invasive medical examinations and faced ‘retaliation’, including withholding of medical treatment, if they refused.
The six anonymous women are also suing prison officials, who they accuse of turning a blind eye to their complaints.
The women are all survivors of domestic abuse who were incarcerated for crimes against their abusers, according to their attorney.
One plaintiff, known as Jane Doe 1, is a survivor of sexual abuse who claims that Dr Lee permanently disfigured her genitalia during a rough examination which took place in front of another medical professional.
She alleges that he then threatened to withhold a required medication when she sought to make a complaint.
‘I was shocked. I was stunned,’ she told the Los Angeles Times. ‘For years, I’d been rebuilding myself from trauma in the past. I felt safer in prison than I had in the free world.
Dr Scott Lee, A doctor at a California women’s prison, has been accused of carrying out ‘sadistic’ sexual abuse against inmates
‘I built myself back up in that environment and then it was destroyed.’
Another plaintiff, known as Jane Doe 4, said she was seven and a half months pregnant when she was examined by Lee.
The physician, ‘inappropriately touched her breast area and forcefully touched her pelvic region’, the lawsuit states.
The examination was allegedly so brutal that it left the physician’s fingers ‘covered in blood’, according to the lawsuit.
‘I told him, “You’re hurting me.” I remember holding my stomach, and I was just praying, God, please let this be over, please let this be over, please let this be over,’ she said.
‘I felt like he was raping my baby. When he took his hand out, it was covered in blood.’
Another woman claims Lee insisted she receive repeated pap smears, refused to leave the room while she undressed and was ‘aggressive and sexual’ during the examinations.
‘On at least one occasion, DR. LEE examined JANE DOE # 5’s breasts in a sexualized and inappropriate manner. The nurse chaperones consistently failed to observe or report DR. LEE’s actions,’ the filings state.
An additional plaintiff claims she was forced to get an IUD inserted after she requested contraception as Lee told her the injection she normally obtained was not available.
Lee, 70, abused female prisoners at the California Institution for Women in Chino over a seven year period, according to a civil lawsuit
As a survivor of sexual assault, she requested that the doctor ‘go slow’ according to the lawsuit.
However, Lee forcefully tried to insert the device and ignored her pleas to stop, causing bleeding and pain which did not stop for three months after the procedure, the filings state.
‘JANE DOE #3 suffered extreme pain, excessive bleeding, and severe trauma. She remains terrified of seeing a gynecologist and has not sought gynecology care since she was released,’ the lawsuit reads.
The woman told the LA Times the pain was so intense she, ‘could barely sit down’.
The other women make similar allegations about traumatic and unnecessary examinations which included groping and invasive contact.
The alleged victims said they expressed their concerns to the prison’s management during a town hall meeting in November 2023 about preventing sexual assault in prisons.
Jane Doe 1 said she was motivated to speak out after collecting testimony from other women about their alleged experiences with Lee.
However, the plaintiffs claim in the lawsuit that their complaints fell on deaf ears.
‘Instead of taking action to prevent further harm to the incarcerated population, these Defendants ignored continued complaints against multiple physicians performing horrific examinations on patients at CIW, including Defendant DR. LEE,’ the complaint reads.
The six anonymous women are also suing prison officials, who they accuse of turning a blind eye to their complaints. One of the plaintiffs set about collecting accounts from other inmates’ encounters with Dr Lee in this journal
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages to be determined at a jury trial.
‘CDCR has a long history of neglecting basic human needs at its women’s prisons, while prioritizing the needs of the male population,’ Justice First founding attorney Jenny Huang said.
‘For too many years, Dr. Lee’s patients complained about his predatory behavior but no one listened, no one cared .’
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed the doctor is no longer treating patients at the facility.
‘While we are unable to comment on personnel matters, Dr. Scott Lee no longer has direct in-person contact with patients,’ a spokesman told DailyMail.com, speaking on behalf of California Correctional Health Care Services
Lee obtained his medical license in 1984 and it remains valid until 2026, according to the Medical Board of California website.
DailyMail.com has contacted Lee for comment.
