Probation for ex-VA hospital doc who admitted fondling women

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A former physician at a West Virginia's veterans hospital was sentenced to probation Wednesday after pleading guilty to touching two female staffer's breasts without permission.

The sentencing of Dr. Kenneth C. Ramdat, 65, of Silver Spring, Maryland, comes a month after a former nursing assistant at the Louis A. Johnson VA Hospital in Clarksburg was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms for giving seven elderly veterans fatal injections of insulin.

Prosecutors said the separate incidents involving Ramdat occurred as he hugged the women in 2019. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of simple assault. A U.S. magistrate judge then followed the prosecution's recommendation and sentenced him to a year's probation, The Exponent Telegram reported.

According to a plea agreement, Ramdat will not be required to register as a sex offender.

Ramdat apologized in court and called his behavior “repulsive,” the newspaper said. He has retired from the Veterans Affairs system, according to statements in court.

Ramdat's plea “is a step in the right direction to giving the women affected by his horrific actions the justice they deserve,” said U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. "The systemic negligence at the Clarksburg VAMC must be addressed and dealt with. Accountability begins at the top, and I am committed to working with VA Secretary McDonough and as a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to ensure that these serious issues are addressed.”

In May, a federal judge called ex-nursing assistant Reta Mays “the monster that no one sees coming” before sentencing her on seven counts of second-degree murder for intentionally injecting the veterans with unprescribed insulin.

Mays, who has a history of mental health issues, offered no explanation for why she killed the men. But U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh told her “you knew what you were doing.”