Patients of the Obstetrician Who Was Detained in a Sexual Investigation Have Spoken Out

NEVADA – In a prostitution sting, Samuel Chacon’s picture was shown along with those of 26 other men. He was arrested for soliciting a prostitute, a misdemeanor. A two-day crackdown on sex crimes was led by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

Even though you may not know who he is, his patients did. He works at the Women’s Health Center of Reno in Northern Nevada.

His arrest for allegedly trying to get women to do prostitution may come as a surprise to the community, but some of his former patients have been complaining about him for years, which has nothing to do with the arrest.

“I cannot understand how he has continued to do what he’s doing for another 21 years,” said Tiffany Hoffman, a former patient of Chacon.

Twenty-one years ago, Tiffany Hoffman was about to give birth, and Samuel Chacon was the doctor who was there to help.

“He is very coercive,” Hoffman said. “He was really pushing for a cesarean and trying to force me to have surgery.”

She turned down the C-section and gave birth naturally. She says that she didn’t find out about the gauze until six weeks later, when she went to a different OB-GYN.

“At that visit, she found that and was shocked,” Hoffman said.

But Hoffman says it was Chacon’s suturing of a tear after birth that caused more long-term effects.

“He didn’t find out until years later that the stitching he did wasn’t very good. Even now, I still have problems,” Hoffman said. “I feel like he butchered me.”

Hoffman says it’s taken more than two decades to emotionally heal, but the physical impact still remains.

Other women have also come forward to say the same things as Hoffman.

She said, “Someone has to say something.”

Elyana Pereos is also a former patient of Doctor Chacon.

Pereos said, “I went to Doctor Chacon for an annual checkup, a Pap smear, and help with a small bladder leak I was getting from jumping up and down at my son’s football games.”

Pereos says that Chacon told her she would need surgery after a few tests.

Pereos said, “I was a little shocked, like, ‘Oh, I need surgery?'”

In fact, Chacon told her she needed three surgeries: a sling for her bladder, a partial hysterectomy, and repairs to the front and back of her uterus.

“You trust doctors and I can’t see inside myself,” Pereos said.

Pereos went through with the procedures.

Pereos said, “I went in for an outpatient surgery, and when I woke up, my whole life had changed.” “I was in terrible pain all the time, and that was all I could think about. I couldn’t pay attention or do anything.”

Pereos decided to tell the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners what was wrong. The board replied to her saying they have “opened a case into the matter”.

When we talked to the executive director, he told us that the board knows about Doctor Chacon’s recent arrest and that “the matter is being looked into according to normal board investigative procedures.”

He wouldn’t say what was going on with Pereos’s complaint or if anyone else had filed a complaint against Doctor Chacon.

Pereos has complained to the medical board, but five other women have taken it a step further and sued Chacon for malpractice.

The plaintiff’s lawyer, Julie Throop, said, “I have five cases filed right now, and two more are being looked at by our medical expert.”

Throop says almost all the cases filed in Washoe County’s Second Judicial Court follow the same fact pattern alleging that Samuel Chacon “negligently performed unneccessary procedures” which caused “permanent harm”.

“Doctor Chacon is doing surgeries on women that don’t need to be done,” said Throop.

“I don’t know how many more are out there, but currently, the court is treating them individually,” she said.

Of the five active cases, three are pending, one was dismissed, and in another, a motion to dismiss is pending.

At this juncture, the courts and the medical board have not weighed in on these allegations, and Doctor Chacon has not been found to have committed wrongdoing.

The State Board of Medical Examiners told us Doctor Chacon has an active medical license and is in good standing.

The Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center told us that the doctor does not have privileges there right now, but they wouldn’t tell us why. As of one day after his arrest, Renown Regional Medical Center said Chacon did have privileges.

Hoffman and Pereos say they don’t believe Samuel Chacon should be practicing anywhere.

“If you’re hurting more women than you’re helping, he shouldn’t be allowed to touch anybody,” Pereos said.

Two women spoke to us on camera, describing traumatic experiences they said they had with Samuel Chacon. We’ve talked to 16 women over the past few weeks, and many of them didn’t feel comfortable telling their stories on camera.

We reached out to Samuel Chacon and his legal team for comment. The following is what one of his lawyers said in response.

“Dr. Chacon cares deeply about all of his patients and holds himself and those he works with to the highest standard of medical care. He cannot comment on any ongoing legal matters because as a doctor he has an obligation to protect patient privacy rights. Dr. Chacon denies any wrongdoing regarding the recent charges against him, and he will vigorously and aggressively defend himself to establish his innocence. It’s too bad that these issues are being fought over in the media before the legal process is over.”

Credits: KOLOTV

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