DOCTOR HIT ON PATIENT

Fondling a 16-year-old girl during therapy sessions at his Rego Park office proved costly for a psychiatrist who was convicted last Monday, Dec. 22 of sexual abuse, it was announced.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said that Dr. Raj A. Danthuluri, 40, of Highview Avenue in Hicksville, L.I. was found guilty of third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child in a verdict rendered by Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Kron following a three-day bench trial.

Sentencing for Danthuluri has been scheduled for Feb. 13. He faces up to one year in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender and provide a DNA sample to the state's DNA criminal databank.

According to the charges, the psychiatrist fondled the breasts of the 16-year-old female patient during a consultation at his office at 64- 33 99th St. in Rego Park on May 14, 2007.

During a second visit to his office several weeks later on July 23, prosecutors said, Danthuluri repeated his actions and fondled the girl again. Following that incident, it was noted, the victim alerted her parents who then notified law enforcement agents.

"As a medical doctor and therapist, the defendant must have been aware of how harmful his actions would be to his young patient," said District Attorney Brown. "A doctor's office should always be a safe place for a patient, free of sexual predators—especially those treating children."

It was noted that the case has been referred to the New York State Department of Health's Office of Professional Conduct for a review of Danthuluri's medical license.

Det. Daniel Howard of the NYPD Queens Special Victims Squad conducted the investigation under the supervision of the squad's commanding officer, Lt. Arthur Hall.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Lauren Parson of the D.A.'s Special Victims Bureau, which is supervised by Marjory D. Fisher, bureau chief, and Kenneth M. Appelbaum and Lucinda C. Suarez, deputy bureau chiefs.