A dentist who practiced in downtown D.C. has been indicted on charges that he sexually abused male patients while they were anesthetized with nitrous oxide.
Bilal Ahmed, 44, of Potomac, Maryland, was indicted Tuesday.
The charges include 14 felony counts of sexual abuse, four misdemeanor counts of sexual abuse and three misdemeanor counts of assault, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for District of Columbia.
In May 2014, according to court documents, Ahmed performed dental work on a patient at Universal Smiles DC in the 2300 block of M Street Northwest. He administered nitrous oxide to the patient through a face mask. Prosecutors say when the mask came off, the patient found Ahmed sexually assaulting him. The patient reported the incident to D.C. police.
Additional victims have been identified, the statement said, including two former male patients and a former male employee who accused Ahmed of improper touching. The other patients were also allegedly assaulted under nitrous oxide during incidents that happened in 2013 and 2014.
Ahmed was arrested in January 2016 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
The office manager for Ahmed’s former dental practice has also been indicted on a charge of perjury: Mahsa Azimirad, 26, of North Bethesda, allegedly gave false testimony to a grand jury during the investigation in 2014.
Barry Coburn, one of Ahmed’s lawyers, said by phone that he had not yet studied the indictments or reviewed them with his client.
Ahmed’s dental license in D.C. was suspended in November 2014 and a Maryland dental license was suspended in April 2016.
WTOP’s Teta Alim contributed to this report.
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