For decades, Dr. Dung Nguyen portrayed himself as a trusted doctor, treating illness and counseling patients on their health concerns. Behind closed doors, though, he exploited his position as a medical professional by sexually abusing and sexually assaulting over 20 patients, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday in opening statements in the doctor's criminal trial.
Nguyen, a Tucson internal-medicine physician, was indicted in the spring of 2025 on multiple sex-crime charges involving several patients.
Nguyen’s attorney, however, told jurors that as an osteopathic doctor, the breast exams patients said were conducted inappropriately and without their consent were part of his whole-body approach to medicine.
Opening statements in the case against Nguyen began Tuesday morning in Pima County Superior Court. The prosecution outlines a pattern of alleged abuse spanning his nearly 40-year career.
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“Dr. Nguyen took advantage of his role as a doctor, as a healer, as someone who these people trusted, and he violated that trust,” Pima County Attorney Lacee Collins said in her opening statement. “Over 20 victims over the course of multiple decades who were sexually abused and sexually assaulted by their doctor because he used his position to control all ages, all walks of life throughout our community.”
Some of the complaints described Tuesday included that Nguyen rarely used gloves, stuck his hand down patients' shirts without a stethoscope or reason, had patients take their shirts and bras off in front of him, and touched his patients’ breasts without their consent.
“He required breast exams when no breast exam was needed,” Collins said. “That is not a breast exam, that is sexual abuse. You will hear the victims describe how he would touch their breasts. Many many use the word ‘play,’ they'll use the word ‘massage,’ ‘cupped.’”
Nguyen’s defense characterized him as a dedicated doctor and “workaholic,” who cared deeply about his work and his patients.
“Dr. Nguyen did not view the practice of medicine as a business, he viewed it as a calling, his purpose in life,” Defense Attorney Michael Bloom told jurors.
Patients likely misconstrued appropriate medical treatment as sexual assault, Bloom said.
“Dr. Nguyen is an osteopathic physician,” Bloom said. “When a patient comes in, they don't believe in just treating the shoulder or the knee. They believe the body is connected together. The focus is on the whole body, and the focus is on evaluating the person's lifestyle, their diet, everything. That is what an osteopathic physician's training is.”
The trial is expected to last through Nov. 6.
