WESTLAKE : Pediatrician Faces Trial on Sex Charges

After a parade of female witnesses testified that he had touched their breasts in his medical office or at their homes, a Westlake pediatrician was ordered Thursday to stand trial in Ventura County Superior Court.

Stuart M. Berlin, 35, will be arraigned July 9 on six misdemeanor counts of sexual battery involving four women in 1991, and one felony count of molestation involving a 13-year-old girl in 1990.

After a daylong preliminary hearing where all of the alleged victims testified, Municipal Judge Art Gutierrez said there was enough evidence to order Berlin to stand trial.

Two of the women said Berlin fondled their breasts after they went to him because of problems with breast-feeding. Another said he massaged her breasts with lotion after she complained of back pain. The fourth said Berlin massaged her chest after she mentioned having migraines.

All of the witnesses said they eventually decided that the treatment was inappropriate and asked Berlin to stop, which he did. Most of the incidents occurred in the presence of their infants or small children, the women said. In one case, the woman’s husband was present.

The teen-ager said Berlin fondled her breasts while checking her heartbeat and respiration.

A prosecutor also played a telephone conversation tape recorded by sheriff’s deputies. During the conversation, Berlin admitted to a patient that he had acted inappropriately with female patients.

On the tape, Berlin also said he had spent four months in psychiatric hospitals where he learned that his troubles stemmed from an incestuous relationship with his mother.

Berlin, who is free on bail, has closed his medical practice. The Medical Board of California has said it would try to revoke his license.