Woman says suburban gynecologist sexually assaulted her

SKOKIE - A local woman is accusing her doctor of the unthinkable: assaulting her under the guise of providing medical care.

She's not the only one with disturbing allegations against the north suburban gynecologist, who also faces criminal charges.

The Skokie mother had just given birth when she says her doctor assaulted her.

“You're so vulnerable at that moment and I really trusted him,” she said.

She asked us to hide her identity, saying she hasn't told all of her loved ones what happened that day back in 2012.

She says she saw her gynecologist, Fabio Ortega, in his Lincolnwood office for a routine, post-partum visit.

“My exam was already done, the nurse had left the room, I was still undressed, he signed out of his computer and that was when he took the opportunity to abuse me,” she said.

She has filed a lawsuit as Jane Doe against 72-year-old Ortega and the health system where he worked. The suit says Ortega asked "prying and personal questions" about her sex life, but she "trusted Ortega was doing what was medically necessary because he was a doctor."

Then last fall, she saw news coverage that Ortega had been arrested, accused of assaulting another patient.

“As soon as I saw the title ‘North Shore doctor indicted for sexual assault,’ it was like somebody punched me in the stomach,” she said.

She then went to police, and her suit says Jane Doe realized "for the first time, that Ortega had sexually assaulted her."

“That exam he performed after the questions, was not an exam...and I fell apart,” she said. “Then I saw very clearly that what he was doing to me was for his own pleasure. His own sexual gratification.”

She’s not the only one accusing Ortega. His arrest in Skokie came after a patient accused him of assaulting her in 2017. Ortega is charged with criminal sexual assault in that case.

After his arrest, his medical license was suspended and FOX 32 has learned that police in Skokie, Lincolnwood and Evanston have been investigating Ortega.

Through his attorney, Ortega denies the allegations.

“He's a predator...they had a predator delivering babies. It's unthinkable,” Jane Doe said.

Her suit also targets Northshore University HealthSystem which released a statement, saying in part: "We find any professional misconduct of this nature to be deeply disturbing and not reflective of the high standards of care we stand for and that our patients expect from us. We continue to investigate and work with authorities. The physician in question is no longer employed by us."

“I was abused in their facility and I'm afraid to close my eyes at night because I'm afraid I'll see his face in my dreams,” she said.

Now, Jane Doe says she focuses on her children to find the strength to speak out against the man who delivered her first born.