An Oceanside physician accused of sexually assaulting four female patients from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Vista, authorities said Monday.

Dr. Edgar Manzanera, contracted by the VA to review pension disability claims, was arrested last week on a warrant charging him with four counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object and one count of sexual exploitation by a physician, according to the District Attorney’s Office. He posted $150,000 bail and was ordered to return to court Wednesday.

Manzanera’s arrest last Wednesday came two days before one of his former patients filed lawsuits in state and federal court against him, the VA and his former employer, QTC Medical Services, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Lawsuits filed in Vista and Arizona claim that Manzanera committed sexual battery against the plaintiff and falsely imprisoned her inside a clinic in Oceanside in 2016 while he was alone with her in his examination room.

Although there was no medical reason for her to get naked, the military veteran said Manzanera had her take off her clothes and lift a medical gown over her head until she couldn’t see what he was doing, according to the lawsuit.

— City News Service

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