CROWN POINT | The Lake County sheriff has fired an Ogden Dunes physician from the jail's medical staff in the wake of charges the physician inappropriately touched a female patient in Porter County.
"When I found out last week, I put a directive out that he is prohibited from working or entering the jail and we took away his key," Sheriff John Buncich said Wednesday.
The sheriff said there is no evidence any female inmates were molested while in the physician's care.
Dr. Jose Agusti had worked just under a year for Correctional Health Indiana Inc. staff, which holds a $3.4 million annual contract, to provide health care to thousands of county jail inmates.
Agusti is pleading not guilty to charges he hugged, kissed and fondled a female patient Sept. 17 at his Valparaiso office. Police arrested him March 14. His bond has been set at $25,000.
Buncich said Wednesday he is confident nothing like that happened in the jail because county policy required two other people — a nurse and a corrections officer — to be present in the room when Agusti was treating female inmates.
Buncich said Correctional Health Indiana has already taken steps to replace Agusti so his departure shouldn't result in any shortage of medical staff.
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