James Mason Heaps: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

James Mason Heaps, 62, is an obstetrician-gynecologist who worked part-time at UCLA’s health center from 1983 – 2010 and is accused of sexually abusing his patients. Dr. Heaps has been charged with two counts of sexual battery by fraud and one count of sexual exploitation following allegations from two of his former patients.

Both patients allege that Dr. Heaps inappropriately touched them during routine exams. One of his accusers claims Heaps touched her buttocks while he was examining her lower back and touched her breasts in 2017. Two other women filed similar complaints about Dr. Heaps in 2014 and 2015.

UCLA Health bought Dr. James Mason Heaps private practice in 2010 and the doctor earned a $1.045 million salary from the university in 2017. He turned himself in Monday and was released by the Los Angeles district attorney on bail. UCLA is currently conducting an independent review of how it responds to sexual misconduct claims in clinical settings. read more »

What to Do If You’re Being Sexually Harassed

Even in the wake of #MeToo, there’s no clear-cut “right” way to respond to sexual harassment, the sociologist Marianne Cooper writes. Here’s how to make an informed decision about what to do. read more »

Why the nation's two largest religious groups are talking about sex abuse this week

When leaders of the country's two largest religious groups -- the Catholic Church and Southern Baptist Convention -- hold meetings this week, the separate conferences will have a common agenda: clergy sexual abuse.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which represents some 51 million American Catholics, will hold their four-day spring meeting in Baltimore starting Tuesday. Meanwhile the Southern Baptist Convention, which counts some 15 million members, kicks off their annual meeting Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama.

After a series of internal investigations and journalistic exposes, both denominations are reeling from scandals that have stained their reputations and demoralized the faithful. read more »