Six inmates at the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino have filed a class-action lawsuit against a prison gynecologist who the plaintiffs allege sexually abused and injured them during exams related to pregnancy and other medical issues.
Dr. Scott Lee, a gynecologist who graduated from the Irvine College of Medicine in 1983, is among multiple defendants, including other prison medical personnel, named as defendants in the lawsuit. The complaint, which was filed Feb. 2 in the Central District of California, names Jane Does 1 through 6 and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners as plaintiffs.
“... The individually named defendants … have ignored and neglected the gynecological needs of people in women’s prison …” the complaint states. “Defendants not only deprived prisoners of basic gynecological needs but subjected them to horrific, sadistic and retaliatory abuse under the guise of gynecology care.”
Lee was the only gynecologist available to CIW prisoners from 2016 to 2023, according to the lawsuit. Among the allegations against the physician are that he carried out exams in a “hostile, rough and retaliatory manner,” physically threatened inmates, engaged in abusive physical behavior and sexualized comments and retaliated against women who complained about him to authorities.
“Dr. Lee’s sexual abuse and the ratification of his conduct by the remaining defendants have caused physical pain and suffering, severe emotional trauma, and the denial of gynecology care to plaintiffs and the class,” the complaint says.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that the Chino facility and another women’s prison in Chowchilla were under investigation for sexual abuse complaints.
“While we are unable to comment on personnel matters, Dr. Scott Lee no longer has direct in-person contact with patients,” Pedro Calderón Michel, deputy press secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told the Southern California Record in an email.
One of the inmate-plaintiffs was 7 ½ months pregnant when she had her first exam with Lee, according to the lawsuit. The physician remained in the exam room while the inmate was undressing despite her request for privacy, the complaint says.
“Dr. Lee inappropriately touched her breast area and forcefully touched her pelvic region,” the lawsuit states. “Dr. Lee ignored Jane Doe #4’s complaints of the pain.”
The physician was aggressive and abusive and made inappropriate comments during the exam, the plaintiff alleged. In addition, Lee denied the inmate postpartum care, leading to extreme pain and discomfort, according to the lawsuit, which also reported that a chaperone refused to intervene to stop the abuses during the exam.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages and numerous prison policy changes, including regulations for CIW to have a full-time OB-GYN of the gender preferred by incarcerated patients, mandated “support persons” to accompany inmates during such exams and training of staff members in the provisions of the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act.
In 2022, the Medical Board of California received a sexual abuse complaint about Lee by an inmate who was in labor, alleging that Lee delayed her transport to a hospital, according to the lawsuit. The California Medical Board reported that Lee received a malpractice judgment against him for $194,000 in damages in 1996.