Omaha ex-ultrasound tech Kevin W. Ryan has cut a plea deal in the alleged sex assaults of three female patients that will put him behind bars for up to five years — but he won't have to register as a sex offender.

The alleged assaults took place in the last three months of 2011 at Midwest Cardiology in Omaha, Nebraska. Ryan had initially pleaded not guilty.

One woman had traveled extensively for work. Now, she testified to the judge, “I go nowhere without anyone going with me,” according to the Omaha World-Herald. “I took pride in my career; I don’t have a career. I can’t drive a car because I have a panic attack. It’s impacted my husband and my kids and everyone.”
He had been sentenced to eight to 10 years, but Ryan could get out on parole in four years.

“The defendant was given a tremendous break when he was allowed to plead to a (lesser) felony,” said Douglas County District Judge Greg Schatz. “He was given an additional break when the state didn’t pursue sex offender registration. ... He has not accepted responsibility for anything other than some accidental injury. ... He could have been convicted of a Class 2 felony sexual assault.”

Two women alleged that Ryan had penetrated them with his fingers during the exams. A third said he fondled her breasts during a chest exam.

Ryan's lawyer, James Schaefer, took issue with that characterization, saying that his client's actions were not sexual. He stated that the technician was doing an ultrasound of veins and arteries from the ankles to the upper thighs, when he cut the labia of one of the woman, who was 55 at the time of the exam.

“Our position was that he did injure this woman,” the lawyer said. “But it didn’t have any sexual intent whatsoever.”

The woman said Ryan inflicted a laceration so bad that “I still face corrective surgery.”

During the chest exam, his lawyer stated, the Ryan had been wiping gel from the young woman's breasts.

Ryan had pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of misdemeanor fondling.

His plea was in exchange for the DA's office dropping the latter charge and reducing the first-degree charges to one count of second-degree assault.

Deputy Douglas County Attorney Molly Keane said that although her office had no doubt about the sexual intent, she wanted to spare the women more grief from their ordeal.

“It’s difficult when these women think about having to tell their story to not only people they’ve already met but also to strangers,” Keane told the paper. “Both of these women were very brave throughout the process. I think our goals were met in negotiating this plea in such a way that he was convicted of a felony and faced significant prison time.”

Outside court, one of the woman said, “I wasn’t his first victim, and I wasn’t his last victim,” adding that she has been "a prisoner in my own home since this happened. Now ... he gets to feel what it’s like to be confined,” according to the World-Herald.

Primary Care Homepage