Tara Batrice left her neurologist’s office bruised and terrified. During her first appointment with Dr. Ghias M. Arar, he forced himself on her – grabbing her by the arm, ripping her bra, kissing her breasts and fondling her while he masturbated. Then he gave her a $100 bill and told her to stay quiet, she said.
Batrice was certain he had done it to other women. But this time, he miscalculated his victim.
Instead of going home, she went to a hospital for a rape kit, taking with her some tissues the doctor had wiped himself with. Batrice was date raped in college, so she knew evidence had to be preserved for any charges to stick, she said.
Instead of waiting for the police investigation to follow its course, she told her story to a television news station and made a plea for other victims to come forward.
“I said if it ever happens to me again, I would not let the son of a bitch walk away,” Batrice said. “That’s what was going through my mind.”
In this emotional AJC video, Batrice explains why she went public, the toll it took on her, and why she was willing to bear a backlash to keep any other women from being violated.
