Former UCLA Gynecologist Faces Retrial in Pasadena on Sex Crime Charges

Former University of California, Los Angeles campus gynecologist James Mason Heaps, 66, already serving an 11-year prison sentence for sex crimes, tentatively faces a retrial today at the Pasadena Courthouse on nine charges from earlier prosecution involving former patients.

Superior Court Judge Michael D. Carter granted prosecutors’ request for a retrial after denying a defense motion to dismiss the deadlocked counts. The charges include three counts of sexual battery by fraud, four counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person, and two counts of sexual exploitation of a patient.

Heaps, who worked at University of California, Los Angeles for nearly 35 years, was convicted in October 2022 on five counts of sexual battery by fraud and sexual penetration of an unconscious person involving two patients. He was acquitted of seven counts involving two other patients. In April 2023, he was sentenced and ordered to register as a sex offender.

The former gynecologist, who remains in custody and appeared in court wearing orange jail clothes, surrendered his medical license in March 2023.

His attorney, Tracy Green, opposed the retrial, arguing “there was no reason to believe another jury would reach a verdict.”

Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers pushed for the retrial, citing “the serious nature of the case” and stating that “the victims have a right to justice.”

University of California, Los Angeles has faced criticism and numerous lawsuits for allegedly failing to protect patients after becoming aware of misconduct. The case has resulted in substantial settlements: $374 million for 312 former patients announced in May 2022, $243.6 million resolving lawsuits involving about 200 patients in February 2022, and $73 million settling federal lawsuits involving approximately 5,500 plaintiffs.