Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and the Division of Consumer Affairs today announced that the State Board of Medical Examiners (“the Board”) has revoked the license of a Middlesex neurologist following his criminal conviction for criminal sexual contact with a female patient during an examination at his office.
Under a Consent Order of Revocation with the Board, Dr. Farooq Rehman, who operated Neurology Consultants of Central Jersey in Old Bridge, must wait at least five years before reapplying for his medical license.
Rehman was arrested twice in 2015 on charges of criminal sexual contact involving two patients. Following the first arrest on September 22, 2015, the Board’s Hearing Committee (“the Committee”) ordered Rehman’s license temporarily suspended after viewing evidence that included a video surreptitiously recorded by the patient during one of the two alleged incidents involving her. In ordering the temporary suspension, the Committee alleged that the doctor groped the patient's buttocks, fondled her bare breasts, and touched her genital area over her clothing several times for his own prurient interests and in a way that exceeded any appropriate neurological examination.
On November 24, 2015, less than two weeks after the Committee ordered the temporary suspension of Rehman’s license, he was arrested again on criminal sexual contact charges involving another patient. In December 2016, the Committee’s decision was ratified by the Board, which determined that Rehman’s behavior posed a clear and imminent danger to the public and upheld his suspension pending a full hearing on the allegations against him.
In June 2016, Rehman pleaded guilty in County Court to one count of criminal sexual contact with regard to the first patient and one count of Harassment with regard to the second patient. In August, he was sentenced to probation for a period of one year.
On January 5, Rehman resolved the allegations against him by entering into a Consent Order that calls for the revocation of his license. Under that agreement, Rehman may not apply for or obtain a license to practice medicine or surgery in New Jersey until five years has elapsed from November 13, 2015, the effective date of his temporary suspension. No credit will be given toward his revocation for any length of time Rehman practices in another jurisdiction or state. He must also reimburse the Board $35,738 in investigative costs and attorney fees, and pay fines and penalties totaling $10,000.
Under the terms of the Consent Order, prior to the Board considering any application for licensure, Rehman must successfully complete, at his own expense, an ethics course and a boundaries course approved in advance by the Board. Rehman must also undergo a Board-approved psycho-sexual evaluation and complete all recommendations for treatment. He must also appear before the Board to discuss his readiness to reenter the practice of medicine, and demonstrate his fitness and competency to do so.
Under the agreement, Rehman is precluded from managing, overseeing, supervising, or influencing the practice of medicine or provision of health care activities in New Jersey until all the terms of the Consent Order have been met.
Patients who believe that they have been treated by a licensed health care professional in an inappropriate manner can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling 1-800-242-5846 (toll free within New Jersey) or 973-504- 6200.