A Conshohocken weight loss doctor used his hands or a foreign object to penetrate patients, telling one victim, “If you have an orgasm, that would burn 200 calories,” according to court documents obtained by NBC Philadelphia.
“A number of [the victims] used the word ‘creepy’ to describe his conduct,” Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said in a press conference Monday.
Dr. Arie Oren, who works at Conshohocken Weight Control at 100 West 3rd Avenue, was arrested on multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault after several female patients reported to police that Oren inappropriately touched them during weight loss sessions between September and December 2010, according to Ferman.
One victim told police that Oren told her, “You’re getting an extra special treat for losing all the weight,” and he then used a massager on her genitals, according to court documents.
Another victim told police that the 64-year-old doctor grabbed her breasts.
Yet another victim said that the doctor sexually assaulted her, and when she protested, he unbuttoned his pants and said, “If you need a man, I’m a man,” according to court documents.
“For a woman to go to a doctor like this, looking for help with weight loss -- which is such a personal matter -- and to then have the doctor touch her sexually…is really a complete betrayal of what the doctor is supposed to be doing,” Ferman said.
Oren is a convicted felon who served prison time in the late 1990s for an insurance fraud scheme, according to authorities.
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He was released after posting $100,000 cash bail following his arraignment Monday afternoon.
The District Attorney’s Office believes there may be more women who were victim to Oren’s abuse and Ferman hopes they will come forward.
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