NEW YORK (Reuters) - The trial of an alleged phony cancer doctor accused of sexually assaulting his patients started on Monday in New York with jury selection.
Michail Sorodsky, who faces 102 charges including rape and sexual assault, posed as a holistic cancer doctor who would charge his patients as much as $1,000 per treatment session, according to court documents.
"He tells people he can cure them, and nobody gets better," said Brooklyn prosecutor Thomas Schellhammer.
Sorodsky, 63, would often claim he could heal cancer by smearing his victims with probiotic yogurt, prosecutors said.
The 102 charges stem from eight patients, one of whom he is accused of raping while she was sedated. The others list sexual assault.
Sorodsky treated hundreds of patients, prosecutors said, but no state records show him having a valid medical license.
Once jury selection is complete in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn, testimony is slated to begin on March 7.
Sorodsky is being jailed on $33 million bail, reportedly the highest in state history.
Defense attorney Aaron Mysliwiec, who said his client looks forward to fighting the charges in court, said the bail was "outrageous."
"Bail should not be used as a punishment against someone," he said.
Sorodsky was arrested in 2007 when the daughter of one of his patients who died from cancer grew suspicious of his methods, prosecutors said.
His wife Beverly Sorodsky faces nine charges as well, mostly regarding larceny.
(Reporting by Aman Ali; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)
