Amidst the jubilation of winning a much publicized rape case against Charles Momah, a prominent Seattle doctor, attorney Harish Bharti was also agonizing over how the women had to wait for 10 years for their legal victory.
"They went to the hospital first to complain against the doctor," Bharti, best known for the successful suit he had brought against McDonald's for not disclosing its vegetarian burgers contained beef tallow, told rediff.com. "They then went to the police and then went to lawyers. The lawyers said they would not take up the case because it was their word against a successful doctor."
"In India this could not have happened," he continued. "At least the neighbors would have taken care of the women."
On Wednesday, a jury in Seattle found Momah guilty of two counts of rape and two counts of indecent liberties against four patients. Four handcuffs were used on Momah because of his size -- at 6 feet 1 inch, he weighs 349 pounds -- Bharti said. The physician sat impassively as the verdict was read out.
Bharti is also getting ready to sue in a civil court on behalf of more than 38 women including an Indian woman whose life he said has been "totally devastated by the assault and bureaucratic apathy." Unlike many other victims who have openly testified against Momah and allowed their names be used by the media, the Indian woman has sought anonymity.
Bharti had been dealing with issues of domestic violence and brutality against women before the McDonald's lawsuit brought him international attention.
"I feel this case makes us look into a mirror and ask ourselves how as a society we could tolerate this kind of negligence, and how these victims were victimized over and over again for a decade," Bharti said
"Soon after the verdict, I said the women can sleep with both their eyes closed because they don't have to be afraid of the pressure he was trying to put on them to change their testimony," Bharti continued. "The delay in getting these women any justice at all shows we Americans have no right go around the world and telling other countries how to treat their women."
"Now we are getting ready for a civil trial, and the number of women who want to be part of a civil lawsuit keeps growing," he continued. The civil lawsuit by 38 of his clients against Momah is primarily meant to set an example and warning against similar violence against women, Bharti said. Some women may be able to get some money through insurance, he said. And some may not be able to get anything substantial. "But we are going after him for every penny he has," Bharti added. "Even if he earns some money by making labels in the prison, we want that money."
A jury deliberated for three and a half days before reaching a guilty verdict against the doctor.
Momah, a 49-year-old obstetrician-gynecologist who could face up to 20 years in prison, admitted on the stand he had consensual sex with two women. He also said his actions showed he had violated medical ethics but he had committed no crime. His attorney David Allen has announced that he would appeal the verdict.
'His appearance was a tremendous concern for us all along,' Allen told Court TV about Momah's obesity. 'Here's a large African-American man who looks scary. The victims were all white. The jury was all white.'
Bharti said many women in the civil suit are not white and Allen's fears were unfounded about the composition of the jury. The testimony of the women was very eloquent and true, he added.
Bharti also said the women who were raped by Momah had come to him after exhausting other avenues. Momah has not practiced medicine since September 2003, when state authorities suspended his license but by then Bharti had announced the lawsuit against him.
"They complained to the hospital but nothing really was done," he continued. "They were not taken seriously by anyone, even the police. Many lawyers did not want to take up their case because they said it was their word against that of a doctor."
"I took this case two years and two months ago," he continued. "I believed these victims very much, and always I was confident that he's not going to get away with it."
"They threw a lot of mud on my clients, which I don't like," Bharti said. "You don't have to victimize them again. I don't like that and I'm going to make them pay for it."
Bharti said it took considerable courage to the women to testify in the case and "offer very painful details," which have been captured in the court documents.
The date for sentencing Charles Momah is not set but it is likely to be in early January. "I am going to request that he be given the maximum penalty," Bharti said. "There cannot be many things worse than a physician abusing the patients --- and the guardians of our society looking the other way."
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