WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A South Florida woman is suing a Palm Beach County doctor, claiming he sexually assaulted her in his office.
Facing cameras and reporters Monday, Jodi Motolla said something many victims have likely said before.
"The word no. No is no," Motollla said.
With her attorney Spencer Kuvin by her side, Motolla said her nos were ignored by a pain management doctor at a west Delray Beach facility in 2020.
First, Motolla said, there was inappropriate conversation and touching and the doctor exposing himself. Motolla said she felt trapped seeking pain management and asking not be left alone with him.
"He didn't outright refuse. He just came in and closed the door and just didn't say anything," Motolla said. "I was trapped. He promised me he was going to help me. This was the man who would make me better."
The doctor, whom WPTV is not naming because he hasn't been arrested or charged with a crime, has been reported to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. The agency confirmed an investigation, but so far no charges.
Kuvin said the doctor had previously been practicing in the Los Angeles area before coming to Palm Beach County.
"He tried to downplay what was occurring as if it was nothing," Kuvin said. "And especially a physician that has a patient under the care for pain management, those patients feel trapped."
That, Motolla said, has left her traumatized.
Kuvin wonders if there are other victims and said he is hoping this case will bring the justice Motolla wants.
"What ordinarily, unfortunately, happens in cases of sexual assault like this, and we saw that in the Bill Cosby matter, is the civil litigation will continue," Kuvin said. "We'll take depositions and sworn testimony in our case, and if those depositions lead to further potential prosecution, that is something we would hope could occur."
