CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A former Corpus Christi gynecologist accused of sexually assaulting hit patients was back in court Wednesday for a pre-trial hearing.
The defense team for Dr. Juan Villarreal is asking that the case be dismissed following allegations that evidence was mishandled or even lost by the Nueces County District Attorney's Office.
Dr. Villarreal was a practicing OBGYN out of Calallen. He was arrested back in 2019 and is facing 14 charges of sexual assault after 13 patients came forward claiming they were sexually assaulted by him.
Villarreal's attorney, Ron Barroso, said the allegations stem from pelvic examinations the doctor would perform.
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In court Wednesday, Barroso said the evidence pertaining to Villarreal's case has been lost, and that there could be information among that lost evidence that could prove the doctor's innocence.
While Villarreal's defense asked that the case against the doctor be dismissed, the State asked for more time to consider the situation.
"To be perfectly honest those deadlines have come and gone for the District Attorney's Office, and now they're asking for more time and we are going to be opposed to that motion," Barroso said.
Wednesday's hearing was cut short due to time and there was no ruling on either the defense's motion to dismiss the trial, or the State's motion to for more time.
3NEWS did reach out to the Nueces County District Attorney's Office for comment, but they declined.
The hearing is scheduled to resume Friday afternoon.
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