California doctor banned from practicing after admitting to bizarre acts on patients

A Newport Beach physician who ran a Riverside skin-care clinic will never practice medicine again after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting female patients, bringing a years-long criminal case to a close just as it was headed to trial.Dr.Sam Sannoufi, 55, entered guilty pleas Monday to three misdemeanor counts of sexual battery involving unconscious victims under an agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.As part of the deal, prosecutors dismissed nine felony charges that had also been filed against him.The plea was finalized at the Riverside Hall of Justice moments before jury proceedings were set to begin.Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam sentenced Sannoufi to two years of probation, ordered him to pay restitution and required him to register as a sex offender.The registration requirement effectively bars him from maintaining a medical license, ending his ability to treat patients.“It was paramount to our office that we made sure that this defendant was convicted and that, with this plea, he must register as a sex offender for life and have his medical license permanently revoked for life,” John Hall, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office told the Orange County Register.He said the victims connected to the charges Sannoufi admitted to were satisfied with the outcome.“All of the victims included in the counts he pled guilty to were satisfied that justice was done and that this defendant would never treat another patient, as well as be a lifetime convicted sex offender,” Hall said.The judge also issued criminal protective orders covering the three victims, identified in court records only as C.F., J.V.

and K.T.Authorities first arrested Sannoufi in June 2023 after a woman reported being assaulted during a consultation at his business, Timeless Skincare Laser Clinic Primary Care, located at 6900 Brockton Ave.Investigators accused him of sexual battery and forcible digital penetration.He posted $1 million bail and was...