Former Warner Robins doctor convicted of sexually assaulting patients headed to prison
A former Warner Robins gynecologist is expected to spend decades in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting two of his patients in Wyoming.
Paul Harnetty was sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison Friday in Natrona County District Court, Wyoming media outlets reported.
The Wyoming sentence was not less than 10 and not more than 15 years on each count of sexual assault to be served consecutively, or back to back, K2-Radio reported.
In January, patients told a jury that Harnetty touched them during physical examinations in ways that were unusual or made them feel uncomfortable, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. He was acquitted of six other counts.
Four other counts were dismissed before trial. Harnetty originally was charged with 12 counts.
When he practiced in Warner Robins, Harnetty was the subject of a complaint filed Oct. 15, 2010, with the Georgia Composite Medical Board by women who said he abandoned them when it was time for their babies to be delivered.
Harnetty had lost his privileges at Houston Healthcare, which operates Houston Medical Center and Perry Hospital; at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, which is now the Medical Center, Navicent Health; and at Coliseum Health System.
That meant Harnetty could not deliver any babies at the hospitals, but some of the women who filed a complaint against him didn't know that until they showed up at a hospital in labor.
Harnetty also was disassociated from Cornerstone Medical Associates, a physician-owned and physician-controlled medical group that provides medical billing services.
Additionally, Harnetty had been under investigation by the Georgia Composite Medical Board in 2010 after a nurse filed a complaint against him that come to light through the Wyoming court case, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The investigation revealed allegations of sexual harassment and nurses' concerns about Harnetty's alleged practices during labor and delivery.
The Georgia board’s website indicated that Harnetty's license had "lapsed" and showed no public board orders against him.
Harnetty obtained a medical license in Wyoming in 2012, having moved after closing his Warner Robins office. He's shown in Wyoming in a K2-TV video published on YouTube talking about preventative health care for women.
In fall 2016, Harnetty voluntarily surrendered his Wyoming medical license rather than face a continued investigation by the Wyoming Board of Medicine for wrongful practice, according a disciplinary action that was once listed on the board’s website.
Among the complaints that the board had been investigating was his arrest — while on call for public intoxication, a misdemeanor, K2-Radio reported.
This story was originally published May 5, 2018 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Former Warner Robins doctor convicted of sexually assaulting patients headed to prison."