By Alex Wood - CT Insider - 12.03.2024 - [USA] - [John Magaldi]
Hartford HealthCare has placed the chief of rheumatology at its Bone and Joint Institute on administrative leave after police say he and others tried to have sexual contact with minors.
The rheumatologist, John Magaldi, 61, was arrested Friday by Meriden police on charges that include attempted commercial sexual abuse of a minor between the ages of 15 and 17 and attempted risk of injury to a child under a provision dealing with indecent intimate contact, court records show.
Each of those crimes carries up to 20 years in prison.
Magaldi is also facing a lesser felony charge of attempted second-degree sexual assault and a misdemeanor count of interfering with police or resisting arrest, according to online court records.
He is free on a $350,000 bond and is due March 22 for arraignment in state Superior Court in Meriden, according to the records.
“We are troubled to learn of the arrest and we take these allegations seriously,” Hartford HealthCare said in a statement. “With safety as a core value, we have placed Dr. John Magaldi on administrative leave, and we are working to gather information from law enforcement authorities so that we can address this situation appropriately.
“We are unable to provide further details as this is an ongoing legal matter,” the statement concluded.
Magaldi could not be reached for comment and no lawyer is listed for him in online court records. Magaldi was one of three men arrested in the child enticement sting, in which Meriden police say they worked with the FBI. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm.
Dignity4Patients Commentary: Healthcare works have such close contact with minors & vulnerable patients that any accused of sexual misconduct should be removed with immediate effect. For patient safety reasons. Its commendable implemented and administrative leave enforced. Medical Councils should be encouraging this practice as part of their duty of care & maintenance of professional standards.