ATLANTA -- A federal jury has found an Atlanta VA Medical Center doctor guilty of groping a female patient during exams between 2019 and 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Dr. Rajesh Motibhai Patel, 69, of Lilburn, Georgia, was convicted Tuesday of violating a patient’s constitutional right to bodily integrity while acting under color of law and for engaging in unwanted sexual contact, the justice department said.

He had previously been indicted on charges of sexually assaulting four of his female patients during routine exams but was acquitted of charges related to three victims.

“Dr. Patel violated the cardinal rule of a physician to do no harm to patients under his care,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement. “Veterans who consulted him for treatment, like the victim in this case, trusted Dr. Patel, and he violated that trust.”

“His conviction hopefully provides a measure of healing for those impacted by his crimes,” Buchanan added.

Patel will be sentenced Feb. 20. He was a primary care physician at the veterans affairs medical center in Decatur.

“VA employees are entrusted with keeping our nation’s veterans safe while receiving care,” said Michael J. Missal, inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs, in a statement. “Acts of violence against veterans in VA facilities are reprehensible and shatters that trust. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold anyone who would commit these crimes accountable.”

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