Harvard-Trained Psychiatrist Ashok Bharucha Charged with Sexual Assault on Male Patient

June 27, 2020

A State College (Pennsylvania) psychiatrist was arrested on Thursday for the alleged sexual assault of a patient.

Dr. Ashok J. Bharucha, 53, is charged with one second-degree felony count of sexual assault and two second-degree misdemeanor counts of indecent assault.

The alleged victim told State College police that during a psychiatric appointment on June 16 at Bharucha's 119 S. Burrowes St. office, Bharucha inappropriately touched him and performed a sexual act, according to a criminal complaint. The man told police he did not consent to any of the physical contact.

The man also allegedly said that as he was leaving the office, Bharucha, who resides in Lewisburg, invited him to a hotel room he was staying in and said he wanted the man to be naked when he arrived. He showed police a text message from Bharucha indicating a room number, as well as several missed calls from Bharucha, according to the complaint.

Bharucha was arraigned before District Judge Kelley Gillette-Walker on Thursday night. He was denied bail and is being held at the Centre County Correctional Facility.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

[CCHR note: Bharucha did his postgraduate medical studies at Harvard Medical School and residencies at Harvard’s McLean Hospital and the University of Washington (UW). He has held professorial and clinical positions at UW, Dartmouth Medical School, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Wisconsin, and Temple University.]

An attorney for Bharucha was not listed in court documents.

Source: Geoff Rushton, “State College Psychiatrist Accused of Sexually Assaulting Patient,” StateCollege.com, June 26, 2020. URL: http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/state-college-psychiatrist-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-patient,1483528/ and CV of Ashok Bharucha, as accessed online at http://ajbharuchadr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2310083_2310083_CV2.pdf