Dentist Arraigned On Charges Of Molesting
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
A Brooklyn dentist molested a patient and held her captive for several hours, then tried to buy off the woman’s husband so that he would not call police, prosecutors said.
Dr. Neil Mate, 54, was arraigned Saturday on charges he gyrated against the patient while she was in a dental chair, then dropped his pants, and masturbated on her. Mr. Mate’s lawyer, Sam Rieff, said, “He will be proven innocent.”
Prosecutors said the woman tried to flee but Mr. Mate held her captive for nearly six hours until her husband came to her rescue around 12:45 a.m. Friday.
According to Assistant District Attorney Colleen Babb, Mr. Mate asked the husband, “What can we do to make this go away?” But the husband called police and held Mr. Mate in his office until they arrived, Ms. Babb said.
Mr. Mate, of Manhasset, Long Island, was charged in Brooklyn Criminal Court with third-degree sex abuse, unlawful imprisonment, menacing, and forcible touching.
Judge Miriam Best ordered him to stay away from the victim before releasing him on his own recognizance.
