Physician alleges affair with district attorney

A local dermatologist accused of the sexual assault of patients testified Tuesday that the district attorney's office should be disqualified from handling his case because he had a drunken one-night stand with District Attorney Susan Reed in Las Vegas seven years ago.

Dr. Calvin Day made the statements — which prosecutors described as “ridiculous” and “absolutely false” — during a pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial. State District Judge Ron Rangel denied the request, setting the stage for jury selection to begin Wednesday.

“The defendant believes that event has motivated the 'over the top' prosecution of him,” defense attorneys Jay Norton and Alan Brown said in a court document filed Monday that initially was sealed, barring even prosecutors from viewing it. “He never followed up on the incident and believes Susan D. Reed has acted as a 'jilted lover.'”

Immediately after reading the document Tuesday, Reed stood up and angrily described the allegations as “trickery” and “tantamount to extortion.”

The defense mentioned Day's claims for the first time Friday, she said, suggesting it was an attempt to obtain a trial delay or favorable plea deal by threatening her with embarrassment.

That's a tactic often used on rape victims, she said, adding that she's the one who requested the motion be made public because she won't be bullied.

“This is absolutely false; so bring it on,” she said. “I have nothing to hide.”

Reed never did get a chance to testify because the judge made his ruling that the defense didn't have enough evidence.

“I want the record to reflect that we had witnesses present,” Reed later told Rangel. “It was my intent to establish that I never had any sexual experience with the defendant.”

The defense motion also suggested Reed should be disqualified because she and her deceased husband were at one point Day's patients.

Reed did travel to Las Vegas in January 2006, after she had been widowed, and had dinner with Day and mutual friends, she said. But two witnesses were prepared to testify that they got in the cab with Reed as they headed back to their hotel together — without Day — the district attorney said.

Day's attorneys included with their filing results from a lie detector test from last week in which Day was found to be truthful when stating he had sex with the district attorney.

“At one point Judge Reed and I were alone together,” Day testified. “We both had a lot to drink; so I don't remember a lot about that. We ended up in her hotel room. We had sex ...”

Prosecutors described it as suspicious that Day couldn't recall what hotel the supposed tryst took place in but could supply specific details about sexual acts.

Day was first arrested in 2011 for the alleged sexual assaults of two patients. Two other patients and two women who were not his patients had also accused him of sexual misconduct.

Prosecutors have filed court documents outlining 16 “extraneous offenses” they intend to mention to jurors. The allegations — ranging from harassment to sexual assault — involve eight former patients and five employees dating to 1986.

ckapitan@express-news.net

PDF: Bexar D.A. Office's response to bid for removal from prosecution.

PDF: Calvin Day's Motion to Disqualify and Polygraph Test Results.