$10M bond set for pediatrician in sex case
Bethpage pediatrician Rakesh Punn was indicted on charges that he sexually abused and videotaped his patients, one as young as 11, prosecutors said. He was jailed on pornography and other charges in July of 2010. (July 16, 2010) Credit: Handout
A Bethpage pediatrician was ordered held on $10 million bond Friday after prosecutors told a Nassau judge they fear he would flee rather than face charges of drugging and sexually abusing at least seven of his patients.
At Dr. Rakesh Punn's arraignment in Mineola, prosecutor Jane Zwirn-Turkin revealed new details about the case, including allegations that he kept on his computer what amounted to a how-to guide to sexually abusing children. It suggested targeting girls from ages 11 to 14 with poorly educated parents, sedating them, and giving them emergency contraception, Zwirn-Turkin said.
Zwirn-Turkin told Judge William O'Brien that Punn misled the parents of an 11-year-old girl into thinking she was seriously ill so that he could see her on 15 different occasions, abusing her numerous times.
"He terrified them," Zwirn-Turkin said.
Punn, 53, who has lost weight and whose hair has turned gray since he was first arrested a year ago, pleaded not guilty to the 60-count indictment, and was held on $10 million bond, or $5 million cash. His next court date was set for Monday. His lawyer, Nicholas Marino, said the bail amount was excessive.
"An indictment is not evidence of guilt," Marino said outside court.
Requesting a higher bail amount, Zwirn-Turkin told O'Brien that Punn had more than $6 million in assets when he was arrested. She also said he is being investigated for insurance fraud, and has a 24-year-old wife in India.
O'Brien agreed to raise bail from $3.5 million bond or $1.5 million cash, saying he is "concerned about the allegations by the people that there are connections to a foreign nation."
Punn has been in jail since last July, when he was arrested after prosecutors said he secretly videotaped his naked patients with a camera set up in his examination room.
In the year since, prosecutors said an investigation revealed that, dating to 2007, Punn committed more serious crimes. They have since charged him with sexual abuse, assault, promoting a sexual performance by a child and unlawful surveillance.
Zwirn-Turkin said Punn sedated many of the young girls, using injected, intravenous and "date rape" drugs before photographing or videotaping his sexual contact with them, sometimes while their parents waited outside. He also usually blindfolded them, she said. Of the seven known victims, five were minors, prosecutors have said.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
