New Jersey Doctor Indicted for Alleged Sexual Assault and Contact

MAYS LANDING , NJ (WTXF) An Egg Harbor Township medical doctor was indicted for a
sexual assault and multiple counts of criminal sexual contact involving 18 victims in
2013 and 2014, authorities announced on Thursday.

An Atlantic County Grand Jury indicted Syed A. Jaffery on 19 criminal counts: 1 count of sexual assault using force or coercion, a crime of the 2nd degree, and 18 counts of criminal sexual contact-a crime of the 4th degree.

The state alleges that the victims were patients of Jaffery's medical practice, and that Jaffery committed sexual contact while they were under his care, using force or coercion for the purpose of sexually arousing or sexually gratifying himself and/or to degrade or humiliate the victims, and that he committed an act of sexual penetration
upon one victim, using force or coercion-a crime of sexual assault, according to authorities.

Investigation by the Egg Harbor Township Police Criminal Investigations Bureau and the New Jersey Attorney General's Office led to Jaffery's arrest on December 23, 2014, charged with 3 counts of criminal sexual contact.

Bail was set at $25,000 cash or bond, and Jaffery subsequently posted bail and was released.

Authorities say continued investigation led to the identification of additional victims, the issuance of additional charges, and Jaffery's arrest on those charges on February 19, 2015, with bail set by Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Mark Sandson of $100,000 cash. Jaffery posted bail and was released, pending court. Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Buckley represented the State in the case.

A crime of the 2nd degree carries a potential penalty of 5-10 years in New Jersey State prison; a 4th degree crime carries a potential penalty of 18 months imprisonment.