September 29, 1999

LONG ISLAND CITY DENTIST ARRESTED AND CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY ABUSING PATIENT

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today the arrest of a Long Island City dentist on charges of sexually abusing a 33 year old female patient during a dental procedure in his office last April.

District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Jairo Rendon, 35, who resides at 41-35 53^rd Street, Woodside and has offices at 45-00 23^rd Street, Long Island City. He is accused of one count each of sexual abuse in the first and third degrees. He faces a maximum term of imprisonment of seven years.

District Attorney Brown said, "Having rendered his victim helpless with the use of nitrous oxide, the defendant allegedly sexually abused her. For anyone, much less a professional, to betray a person in their care with this alleged kind of behavior is intolerable."

According to the charges on April 15, 1999 at about 9:00 a.m. the victim went to the defendant's office to be treated for a dental emergency. It is charged that during the course of the procedure that the defendant, unzipped the victim's shirt, fondled her breast and allegedly committed other sexually abusive acts. When the victim gained consciousness, the victim left the doctor's office and reported the incident immediately to the police. The defendant was arrested yesterday by police officers of the 108^th Precinct and will be arraigned later today in Queens Criminal Court at Kew Gardens.

Assistant District Attorney Frank DeGaetano of the District Attorney's Special Victims Bureau which is under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Marjory D. Fisher and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney Gregory L. Lasak is in charge of the case.

It should be noted that an arrest is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.