An emergency room doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan is being accused of drugging a female patient and performing a lewd act and groping another female patient in a separate incident.
Police say David Newman, 45, was arrested Tuesday on charges of sexual abuse, facilitating a sex offense and assault for impairing the woman with a drug.
The alleged abuse happened earlier this month and in September of last year.
Newman appeared in court Tuesday night and was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail.
Defense attorney John Wing told NBC New York that Newman was a "good man and excellent doctor." He said Newman had served in Iraq as a doctor.
Mount Sinai released a statement saying Newman has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
Newman has edited online medical publications, taught at elite medical schools and been featured in the Wall Street Journal and on PBS, according to the Washington Post. He has also written on healthcare reform and improving doctor-patient relationships.