Pediatrician Who Claimed ‘Demonic Entities’ Made Victims Lie About Him Gets 30-Year Sentence for 'Bold and Brazen' Sex Abuse By Christina Coulter and Bethany Brown

A former Maryland pediatrician who claimed “demonic entities” were making his young patients lie about him has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl.

Ernesto Cesar Torres, 74, was found guilty in March of sexual abuse of a minor and three counts of third-degree sex offense, CBS News reported. He was sentenced to 30 years on Monday, Dec. 8, and “received credit for the 2,087 days already served,” according to a press release from the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Police were alerted in May 2019 after the girl’s mother reported that her child had been sexually abused during a pediatric exam in Torres’ office, the release states. The mother had brought her child to the doctor for a mild skin condition, and the child later told her that he “made her uncomfortable by placing his hand down her pants and touching her ‘down there,'” per the release.

The girl also said Torres rubbed her stomach and kissed her, according to prosecutors, who claim the family changed pediatricians after the girl reported feeling uncomfortable.

The Frederick Police Department contacted Child Protective Services and the Child Advocacy Center which conducted a forensic interview with the victim — during which the child said Torres put his hands down her pants and rubbed “her vaginal area with his palm and fingers,” the release states.

He was subsequently arrested.

Throughout the 2019 investigation, authorities found that there were at least 24 victims — all young, female patients from Torres’ medical practice in Frederick — and that the abuse dated from 1980 to 2018, CBS reported.

After the initial allegation against Torres, a judge allowed the pediatrician to continue seeing patients, but he later agreed to stop practicing medicine as part of the terms of his bail in 2019, according to the outlet.

Frederick County State’s Attorney Charlie Smith told CBS-affiliated WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren that the allegations were “unbelievable,” per the outlet. “Some of the parents said they thought he was doing an abdominal sort of survey. Meanwhile, he had his hand down her pants and was committing a sex offense right in front of the mother. So, he was definitely bold and brazen in what he did,” he added.

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Torres faced over 97 criminal charges of sexually abusing dozens of his juvenile patients, but the court ordered the indictment be severed by victim and the state proceeded accordingly — which ultimately led to his 30-year sentence, prosecutors said in the press release.

“We’re looking forward to prosecuting the other cases and getting consecutive sentences so that the number of years he has to serve is going to be far longer than the number of days he has left on this Earth,” Smith told CBS. “We’re in talks with the parents and the young ladies right now. We have every intention to make sure he’s held responsible for the remaining victims.” 

At one point, Torres claimed he was possessed by a witch, according to the outlet, which cited the state’s attorney. Smith told the outlet that Torres showed no remorse at sentencing.

“He blamed the victims. He did not take responsibility for his actions. He said he was a prophet in a previous life and that there were demonic entities that were possessing these young girls into lying [about] him, so to speak … which I thought was just egregious,” Smith said. “He already traumatized them — sexually molesting them. To traumatize this young girl again by saying she’s possessed by demons and that’s why she came forward was just egregious. It was just horrible.” 

The victim told the court during sentencing, “I now can’t trust male authority. My childhood was taken away from me,” the release states.

The victim’s mother also addressed the court, saying, “For 15 years, my children saw him regularly. I trusted him. I had no idea what my child was living through. My trust in him was shattered, and I will carry this pain for the rest of my life. I still carry the guilt.”

Torres will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life upon release and will serve five years of supervised probation.

“This is truly a story of perseverance both by the victim and the prosecutors,” Smith said, per the release. “Neither would be discouraged or dissuaded, and now this child predator will spend 25 more years in jail. What he had to say about the victims at sentencing was one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever endured in a courtroom. The only thing demonic about this case is this defendant’s actions.”

According to CBS, the state’s attorney believes there may also be more victims who have not yet come forward and encouraged them to contact authorities.

“We are willing to take a look at these cases and charge them despite his age, despite the sentence. We think they need to have justice,” Smith told the outlet.