2 Doctors Face Charges in Sexual Assault Cases : Crime: Former medical resident is accused of attacking two women at hospital. In separate case, a Glendora physician allegedly raped a patient while she was under sedation.

Two San Gabriel Valley doctors charged separately in sexual assaults against three female patients face criminal proceedings in court next month.

Pezhaman Ebrahimzadgh, 29, a former medical resident at Huntington Memorial Hospital, is accused of sexual assault and battery against two women who came to the hospital for medical care last year. He is scheduled to return Oct. 17 to Pasadena Municipal Court for the completion of a preliminary hearing in the case.

On that same day, Charles Metzger, a Glendora urologist, is scheduled for trial in Los Angeles Superior Court on charges that he raped a woman in his office during medical treatment in January, 1993.

The charges against the two doctors are unrelated and resulted from separate police investigations.

Pasadena police began investigating Ebrahimzadgh after a woman complained to her attending physician about a sexual assault that occurred in the emergency room at Huntington Memorial Hospital. Two women, a 35-year-old and a 30-year-old, told police that they were separately assaulted by Ebrahimzadgh on July 15 and Oct. 27 last year. Authorities have said there might be other victims who have not come forward.

Both women testified during the first two days of the preliminary hearing, which began Aug. 18.

Hospital officials declined to comment on the case. A hospital spokeswoman said Ebrahimzadgh was under a four-year residency training program and was dismissed earlier this year by the hospital.

The charges against Metzger arose after a woman accused him of raping her during an office procedure a year and a half ago. Although she was sedated at the time, the woman said she was aware of the alleged rape, and sought a rape exam at Arcadia Methodist Hospital within hours of leaving Metzger’s office.

DNA from samples of sperm found during a rape exam matched DNA from samples of Metzger’s blood and saliva. On Aug. 11 a grand jury indicted Metzger on two counts: rape by use of drugs and rape of a person who is unconscious of the act.

He pleaded innocent Aug. 22.

Metzger denies raping the woman.

His attorney, Steven Mandell, argues that the DNA test linking Metzger to the sperm sample is inaccurate and that the memory of the rape is actually a drug-induced delusion caused by the sedative Versed. Further, Metzger’s X-ray technician says that Metzger never had the opportunity to commit rape because he was never alone with the woman patient.

Versed, a “conscious sedative” used in outpatient procedures, does not so much block pain as induce amnesia, causing patients to forget what happened while they were under its influence, according to the drug company that manufactures the sedative. But Mandell insists that the drug may also cause delusions.

Miya Cattilini, an X-ray technician for Metzger, said in an interview that she was in the room from the time the woman entered until she was dressed to leave. But Glendora Police Detective Brett Mickalson said Cattilini told him she left the room for various periods of up to a minute and a half to develop X-rays.

The alleged victim says that the Versed did not make her forget what happened during the rape because she had been using painkillers during an extended illness that raised her tolerance level, allowing her to remember the events.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Lauren Weis, who is prosecuting the case and heads the county’s sex crimes unit, said the sperm samples in this case were analyzed by Cellmark Diagnostics, the Maryland lab that is studying the blood samples for the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

The lab uses a conservative method of calculation that can sometimes favor defendants. Yet, in this case, the lab found that the DNA banding pattern matching Metzger’s is found in only one in17 million people.

Detective Mickalson said the DNA test eclipses all doubt surrounding the case.

“We have his semen, inside of her, within an hour or so after she left the office,” he said. “You can say whatever you want to say--about it was a delusion, she was under the influence of drugs--but we have the evidence.”

Metzger is a highly respected physician who served as chairman of the board and chief of the medical staff at Foothill Presbyterian Hospital.

“His record with patients is outstanding,” said Donald Hitt, a former president of the hospital. “I think he’s a tremendous guy. I wish we had more doctors like him.”

Metzger’s alleged victim said the indictment is the beginning of the end of her ordeal.

“I’ve just now, only since he’s been ordered to stand trial, been able to sleep,” she said. “I’ve had endless sleepless nights. It’s consumed my mind. Now that he’s been arraigned, I’m more confident that he’ll be convicted.”