A former plastic surgeon from Sylvania, Ohio has pled guilty to a number of charges including sex trafficking, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Ohio.
Manish Raj Gupta, 50, who also goes by the name Manny Gupta, pled guilty Monday to “sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and illegally dispensing a controlled substance: in federal court,” the release said. Gupta, a former plastic surgeon in the Toledo, Ohio, area, according to the release, allegedly “forced, threatened force, and coerced a woman” to engage in sexual activities with him from around August 9, 2016 to Sept. 24, 2016. Gupta also gave the woman, identified as Victim #1, “an incapacitating controlled substance” in order to rape her, the release said.
Toledo Physician Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Charges: Manish Raj Gupta, a former Toledo-area plastic surgeon from Sylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to sex trafficking crimes. https://t.co/flxhRrdmBD
— FBI Cleveland (@FBICleveland) April 27, 2021
Court records, according to the release, also claim that Gupta traveled to a number of medical conferences across the country from 2013 to 2016. While in town for the conferences, Gupta would hire escorts and proceed to drug them so he could sexually assault them without their consent, the release asserted. (RELATED: 2 Spring Breakers Arrested For Allegedly Drugging, Raping A Woman Who Later Died)
“This plea is just one step in a long recovery process for the victim, whose courage and bravery should be commended,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan said as she announced Gupta’s guilty plea. “Mr. Gupta’s acknowledgment of his heinous crimes now moves this matter to sentencing where the government will be seeking a significant term of incarceration. Importantly, though, any additional victims of Mr. Gupta are encouraged to contact the FBI. Every victim of sexual violence deserves justice,” Brennan added, according to the news release.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Toledo Resident Agency took the lead on the investigation that led to Gupta’s arrest and subsequent plea.
“Manish Gupta has now accepted responsibility for preying on, drugging and sexually victimizing women,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric B. Smith said in the release. “He misused his position of trust for his own sexual gratification. He will now be held accountable for his reprehensible criminal behavior,” Smith added. However, the FBI is still encouraging other woman who may have been victimized by Gupta to step forward and contact the FBI at 1-877-FBI-OHIO.
Gupta is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 25, 2021 by a federal district court judge, the release concluded.