Arkan Alrashid: DuPage Charges, Wisconsin Suspension, and Lawsuit

Arkan Alrashid is a Bannockburn, Illinois, gastroenterologist who was charged in DuPage County in September 2020 with criminal sexual assault, later expanded to six felony counts involving multiple women. The charges came roughly seventeen years after Wisconsin regulators suspended his medical license for sexual contact with a hospital employee, and they run parallel to a federal civil lawsuit filed by one of his accusers.

The 2020 DuPage County Charges

An arrest warrant was issued for Alrashid on September 15, 2020, with bond set at $50,000. He turned himself in at the Oak Brook Police Department two days later and was released after posting ten percent.¹ The initial charges were two counts of criminal sexual assault, a Class 1 felony. Prosecutors alleged that on February 12, 2019, Alrashid sexually assaulted a female co-worker while driving her home after a business dinner in Oak Brook, forcing her to perform oral sex.²

His bond conditions required no contact with the victim or her family, surrender of all firearms and passports, and no travel outside Illinois without court permission.¹

At a bond hearing later that month, DuPage County prosecutors said four additional women had come forward, and told the court Alrashid had “left behind a trail of victims over the last two decades.” One accuser, a former employee, alleged that in 2014 Alrashid summoned her to his office after she received a raise, unbuckled his pants, and forced her to perform oral sex, followed by two more unwanted encounters before she quit. Prosecutors called the account “incredibly similar” to the 2019 allegation.³ Another former co-worker, from a Wisconsin hospital, alleged he asked to see her privately in his office and then began unbuckling his pants.⁴

By November 2020, prosecutors had filed four additional counts, bringing the total to six: four counts of criminal sexual assault and two counts of criminal sexual abuse.⁵ Alrashid pleaded not guilty to all six counts at his arraignment that same month. His attorney, Barry D. Sheppard, said his client was “wrongfully accused,” and his practice group, GI Partners of Illinois, also denied the allegations.⁴

The 2003 Wisconsin License Suspension

The earliest documented allegations against Alrashid date to July 2000, when he practiced at Divine Savior Hospital in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Medical Examining Board found that a 21-year-old hospital employee identified as “Ms. A” was treated by him in the emergency room; afterward, he took her to the doctors’ lounge and initiated sexual contact. She told investigators she complied because she believed he would breach her medical confidentiality if she refused. The contact continued into early August 2000, when she reported it to the hospital at her psychologist’s urging.⁶

The hospital fired him on October 26, 2000. In February 2003, the Medical Examining Board suspended his Wisconsin license for a minimum of one year and ordered him to pay $20,000 in costs. Alrashid neither admitted nor denied the allegations but acknowledged the evidence supported the Board’s findings, and he waived his right to appeal.⁶ On February 18, 2004, the Board terminated all limitations on his license and restored him to full licensure.⁷

The Federal Civil Lawsuit

On December 17, 2020, plaintiff Kathryn Nor filed a civil rights employment discrimination lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The suit named Alrashid, GI Partners of Illinois, LLC, Northshore Center for Gastroenterology, S.C., and Surgical Care Affiliates, LLC as defendants, alleging sex discrimination under Title VII.⁸

The complaint alleged that on February 12, 2019, after a business dinner, Alrashid sexually assaulted the plaintiff and told her “I own you” when she asked him to stop, and that he harassed and attempted to kiss her at work the following day. She sought damages for lost wages and benefits, emotional distress, and humiliation, and requested a jury trial.⁹

In April 2023, Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim ordered the unsealing of certain exhibits, including documents tied to the 2000 Wisconsin incident, finding them relevant to the plaintiff’s case and to “attacking Alrashid’s credibility.” The court noted that in the 2000 matter Alrashid had initially “denied all aspects of the other woman’s accusations and severely disparaged her character and mental stability, but then later admitted to certain aspects of the accusation.” The court also compelled him to disclose the identity of the woman from the 2000 incident.¹⁰ As of that ruling the case remained pending.

License and Practice Status After the Charges

After the September 2020 charges, Advocate Condell Medical Center placed Alrashid on leave.⁵ His Illinois medical license was not revoked. It was made conditional on having a chaperone present during all patient encounters while the criminal case was pending, a fact that drew public criticism from accusers who questioned how he was still permitted to practice.⁴

Available records do not show a final resolution of either the criminal case or the federal civil lawsuit.

1
Chicago Tribune. Bannockburn Doctor Charged With Sexual Assault in Oak Brook Attack
2
WGN-TV. Doctor in Libertyville Charged With Criminal Sex Assault
3
CBS News Chicago. Sexual Harassment Accusations Against Libertyville Doctor Arkan Alrashid
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CBS News Chicago. New Sexual Assault Charges Filed Against Libertyville Doctor Arkan Alrashid
5
Becker’s ASC Review. More Sexual Assault Charges Brought Against Illinois Gastroenterologist
6
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. Final Decision and Order, Case No. LS 0110181 MED
7
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. Order Terminating Limitations, Case No. LS0110181RED
8
GovInfo. Nor v. Alrashid et al, Case No. 20-7470
9
Patch. New Details Released in Lawsuit Filed Against Libertyville Doctor
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GovInfo. Memorandum Opinion and Order, Nor v. Alrashid, Case No. 20 CV 7470