Doctor accused of sexually assaulting patients arrested in St. Tammany Parish

SLIDELL, La. (WVUE) – A New Orleans-area doctor was arrested Wednesday (Oct. 30) after being accused of sex crimes by at least two female patients, according to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Dr. Keith Hickey was booked with sexual battery, attempted sexual battery, battery and simple assault, the agency said.

State medical directories list Hickey, 63, as a cardiologist who practices primarily in Slidell.

The St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office said Hickey is a New Orleans resident, and an online biography said he graduated from LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine and completed a residency at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC.

The STPSO said it began investigating Hickey in May after a woman reported that her doctor “touched her inappropriately” during one of her appointments. The woman told investigators that Hickey ordered her to undress and “then began touching her breasts and vaginal area while making inappropriate comments,” the agency said.

During the course of that investigation, the STPSO said a second woman came forward to report a similar incident to the same doctor.

That woman told investigators that during a medical appointment, Hickey “made sexual advances toward her while attempting to lower her pants and put his hands down her shirt,” the agency said. The office said both alleged crimes were committed in St. Tammany Parish.

An arrest warrant for Hickey was obtained Wednesday, the STPSO said, and the doctor was taken into custody and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation is ongoing and anyone who believes they have been victimized by Hickey should contact investigators at (985) 898-2341.

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