Friday, January 08, 1999
Charges pile up against Wal-Mart optometrist
Accused of abusing two more children
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
An optometrist was charged Thursday with fondling two more children during eye exams.
Muhammad Akhtar of Wilder, who worked at a Wal-Mart eye care center on Highland Avenue in Columbia Township, now faces charges of gross sexual imposition in four criminal cases.
Prosecutors say the children, all girls, range in age from 10 to 15 years old.
The latest charges were filed Thursday when a Hamilton County grand jury indicted him on four counts of gross sexual imposition.
Prosecutors said two of the counts involve a 15-year-old who allegedly was told by Mr. Akhtar to pull up her shirt and remove her bra. They said he then touched the girl's breasts.
If convicted, Mr. Akhtar could face a sentence of one to five years in jail on each charge.
Prosecutors say the first two offenses occurred in October and the ones involved in the latest indictment took place in July and September.
All of the incidents occurred during eye exams, prosecutors said.
After the first charges were filed last month, Prosecutor Joseph Deters said parents who have sent their children to Mr. Akhtar should talk with them to determine whether anything unusual happened.
Wal-Mart said Mr. Akhtar, an independent contractor, was suspended Dec. 1.
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