NYC Doctor Who Sexually Abused Patients Hangs Himself in Rikers Island Jail

A New York City doctor who was convicted in July of sexually abusing his patients hanged himself in Rikers Island jail, New York Daily News reported.

Dr. Ricardo Cruciani, 67, hanged himself in a common shower area on Monday.

Cruciani, a neurologist, was arrested in July for raping and molesting female patients after dosing them with strong painkillers.

The sexual abuse charges date back to 2013.

Six of Cruciani’s victims testified against him in a Manhattan court.

New York Daily News reported:

A high profile doctor convicted of sexually abusing patients hanged himself in a Rikers Island jail early Monday, multiple sources confirmed to the Daily News.

Ricardo Cruciani, 67, was convicted by a Manhattan jury in July of four counts of sexual abuse after six of his former patients testified against him.

Cruciani was taken into custody on July 29 after a judge revoked his $1 million bail when he was convicted.

During his trial, prosecutors said victims including a disabled woman told them Cruciani would threaten to kill himself if any of them came forward to disclose his crimes. “Evil in a white coat,” was how prosecutor Shannon Lucey described him.

He was housed in the Eric M. Taylor Center. Early on Monday, he went into a common shower area, stood on a chair and used a piece of cloth to hang himself, the sources said.

Correction Department officials did not have immediate comment Monday.

Cruciani’s death is the 12th in the city jails in 2022, following 16 in the jails in 2021 — a rate of mortality unprecedented in the modern era of the jails.

Prosecutors alleged Cruciani, a trained neurologist, used his psychiatric training to manipulate his victims, plied them with heavy doses of painkillers and raped and molested them while making them watch him masturbate. He was slated to next appear in court Sept. 14.

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