HOUSTON – Doctor Shafeeq Sheikh, 43, was supposed to appear before a judge Monday, but his case was reset. Sheikh is charged with sexual assault.
The internal medicine doctor is accused of sexually assaulting a 27-year-old woman while she was a patient at Ben Taub Hospital.
"He understands the allegations and he's looking forward to appearing in court to defend himself, " Lisa Andrews, Sheikh's attorney, said.
Not long after Sheikh left the courthouse, Houston police held a news conference to make a public appeal in hopes of identifying additional victims.
"He had access to other patients in the hospital, not only on that date, but any other date that he may have worked," Officer D. Compton-Mayes said.
The alleged sexual assault happened in 2013. Police said the woman wasn't able to fight back because she was heavily sedated and in and out of consciousness. She told investigators the man she described as Hispanic or of Middle Eastern descent came into her room three times during the night. She claims that while she tried to get help, the nurse's call button had been unplugged.
Sheikh's attorney told reporters that medical records will show whether the woman was in fact heavily sedated as she defended her client's character.
"He has an excellent record and he is well-regarded in his field," Andrews said.