LAFAYETTE – Lafayette chiropractor and Rensselaer native Dr James Pucka is facing allegations of sexual harassment by a number of patients.
According to documents released recently by the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, five of Pucka’s patients who received treatment at Pucka’s company, The Spine Worx in Lafayette, accuse him of sexually harassing them while he was in his care. Patients in the documents are listed as Patients A to E under “Facts to Support Clear and Immediate Danger”.
Patient A accused Pucka of telling him in front of other patients and staff that “one of them would undress at the end of the appointment,” adding that it would not be him.
Pucka was also accused of coiling his fingers under the straps of the patient’s bra and allegedly commented on her breasts, claiming “they were the cause of her back pain”.
Patient B reported that Pucka also told her in front of other patients and staff that one of them would strip naked at the end of the appointment and that it would not be him. He also told her that the back pain was caused by the size of her breasts.
On another appointment, the patient said Pucka wondered how she could get pregnant due to her blood pressure. Patient B added that during an appointment, Pucka placed his body between his legs and “pressed his groin area against Patient B’s groin area.” Apparently, when the patient asked if Pucka was done with the treatment, he responded by asking the patient if she heard him decompress.
Patient C reported seeing Pucka at the Spine Worx during her pregnancy. She alleges that Pucka touched her in a painful area and he asked how the patient’s husband got her pregnant “if (she) couldn’t be touched there”.
Another patient, Patient D in the documents, is a former employee of The Spine Worx. She also claimed that Pucka said “they should get naked” in front of other patients and staff and then commented on the size of her breasts. She added that Pucka told her “she was hot” and asked her to “let him put his hands on her”.
In Patient E’s report, she said Pucka showed her a photo of someone tied up and tied up while suggesting the position as a possible treatment.
The same patient also said that Pucka told him that a possible treatment could include engaging in “positions of a sexual nature” involving the patient’s “boy toy” for at least 12 minutes. He added that if his “boy’s toy” couldn’t last that long, he could help her and pointed his crotch.
As a result of the allegations, the attorney general’s office is requesting an emergency hearing to determine whether the licensed chiropractor in Pucka, Indiana should be suspended for “a period not exceeding 90 days.” State officials from the attorney general’s office believe Pucka “poses a clear and immediate danger if he is allowed to continue practicing.”
Whether or not to suspend Pucka’s license rests with the Indiana Board of Chiropractic Examiners, which is scheduled to meet in July. The attorney general’s office has filed a motion to hold a hearing where parties involved can present evidence and arguments before the July council meeting.
Pucka has been a licensed chiropractor in the State of Indiana since 1991. He ran a business in the old town mall of his hometown of Rensselaer before moving his family to Lafayette to open a practice there.