Ex-UMass Doctor Accused In Bathroom Cell Phone Incident Punished For Similar Incident In 1994
WORCESTER (CBS-revised) – The former UMass Medical School doctor accused of taking a cellphone picture of a woman in a bathroom has a history of similar behavior, sources told WBZ-TV's Kate Merrill.
Dr. Marcus Cooper, 46, of North Grafton, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Central District Court to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and taking a photo of an unsuspecting nude person. He was released on a promise to return to court and ordered to stay away from the alleged victim and the medical school.
Prosecutors say Cooper followed a woman into a campus restroom September 1 and took a photo of her while she was in a stall.
According to the police report the victim described "knuckles and a cell phone camera lens" pointing down in her direction. She believed the clicking sound she heard was that of a phone taking a picture." She asked him what he was doing and he stated that he had "walked into the wrong bathroom."
Claudia Fallini, a research assistant professor at UMass, was there in the hallway when it happened.
"She was really upset, she was crying and she was really distressed," Fallini says. "It was really shocking, I didn't expect anything like that."
She says she tried to help the victim, chasing after Dr. Cooper when he refused to stop.
"I was really shocked so I tried to run after him, but lost sight of him," Fallini said.
Worcester police seized his iPhone 6 with a search warrant, but they don't know what's on it because they have had trouble accessing data because of the new technology. If they try too many times they ruin it and they can't get in, sources said.
"This person, I think he is sick," Fallini said. "He has definitely some problems and needs some help you know he's not going to stop."
Sources told Merrill Wednesday that Cooper was caught in a similar incident in 1994 when he was in medical school at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland.
In that incident, investigators said he used a dental mirror to peep at a woman in a restroom stall. He was caught, disciplined and suspended for a year from the school. Cooper wrote a letter of apology to the victim and attended counseling, according to sources.
He had been a professor and practicing cardiologist at UMass Memorial Medical Center and UMass Medical School for the last ten years. He was put on paid leave after the September incident.
A school spokeswoman told WBZ Wednesday that Cooper "is no longer an employee of UMass Memorial Medical Group or the University of Massachusetts Medical School."
There is a hearing scheduled at the school for Thursday to determine if enough was done to help the woman in the September incident.
Dr. Cooper also owns a massage therapy business on Route 9 in Shrewsbury. Cooper's attorney says a recent inspection conducted by the Board of Registration determined that no violations of any kind existed at the business.
