After a St. Louis doctor was charged with allegedly sexually assaulting two patients, another several other women has come forward as witnesses, according to KMOV St. Louis — and one of them recorded her appointment on video.
Dr. Howard Orson Setzer, 39, of Webster Groves. Missouri, was charged on February 3 with attempted sodomy, a felony, and second-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
According to court records, in the Jan. 24 incident, Setzer pulled down the victim’s pants, put his hand inside her underwear and squeezed her bare buttocks without her consent. Court records for the Jan. 31 incident reveal Setzer behaved similarly.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Setzer told authorities he doesn’t ask permission before removing a patient’s clothing.
Both alleged assaults took place in Setzer’s office. The first was on January 24 with and the second on January 31, Both women visited Setzer to be treated for back pain.
Melissa Garanzini, who videotaped her own encounter with Setzer, told KMOV St. Louis, she went public with her story after hearing Setzer had been charged.
Garanzini, who was 19 when she first visited Setzer, said she left “with a strange feeling.” She said he seemed nice, but would ask her seemingly inappropriate questions like what her plans were for the evening.
Garanzini returned a month later for her follow up appointment but decided to record the visit on her phone.
She said of that appointment that he caressed her hips and touched her breasts, when she was there to treat her back. “I didn’t know if that was okay or not, but then again he’s a doctor and you trust the doctor, and whatever the doctor says you do it and don’t hesitate.”
At one point, Setzer is seen rubbing his crotch in the video.
Garanzini said she wanted to report the incident but wasn’t sure how to go about it. It was only after she showed the video to some friends who urged her to report it that she filled out a complaint form, but never sent it in to the authorities.
In hindsight, she said, “If something like this happened to anyone else… I think they need to do something about it right away. That’s the mistake I wish I hadn’t made, I wish I would have done something about it right away.”
Garanzini has reportedly shared her video with the prosecutor.
