Former Rutgers doctor guilty of official misconduct and computer theft ordered to jail
A former surgeon at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Bhas been ordered to begin serving his 300-day sentence in Middlesex County Jail after a state appellate court on Tuesday rejected his appeal.
Dr. James Goydos, who was a professor of surgery at Rutgers Medical School, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Michael Toto after he pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2019 to second-degree computer theft, second-degree official misconduct, second degree possession of an assault rifle, third-degree burglary, third-degree computer theft and fourth-degree impersonation.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office agreed to dismiss 116 counts of invasion of privacy connected to cameras allegedly planted by Goydos in a women's bathroom at the Rutgers Cancer Institute.
In all, Goydos, an East Brunswick resident, was charged with 160 counts in the indictment.
The plea agreement called for Goydos to serve up to 364 days in the county jail and four years' probation. Goydos also is prohibited from any public employment in the future and voluntarily surrendered his license to practice medicine in New Jersey.
In New Jersey, second-degree crimes normally call for a minimum of five years in state prison.
But Goydos, formerly the chief of melanoma and soft tissue oncology at the Rutgers Cancer Institute, remained free pending his appeal.
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Goydos was arrested after a hidden camera was found in a women's bathroom at the Rutgers Cancer Institute and videos of women using the bathroom were found on the director's office computer. Court papers say there were sightings of Goydos using the director's office without permission and the assault rifle was found in the doctor's East Brunswick home during a search warrant.
Covert recording devices found during the search of his home matched the recording equipment found in the director's office, court papers say.
In his guilty plea, Goydos admitted he had taken information from the computer in the director's office. He also admitted that he used the credentials of the assistant director to make it appear that it was the assistant director, not himself, to access the information on the director's computer.
That information included the director's date of birth, Social Security number and other personal identifiers.
Goydos said that his position gave him "freedom of movement" to access the director's office suite and the assistant director's computer.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office asked for a waiver of the mandatory prison sentence for the assault rifle charge because it was not used in a crime and Goydos had no criminal record.
In sentencing Goydos, Toto found several mitigating factors, including that he had no criminal record and had "otherwise led a law-abiding life."
"I don't find there's a serious risk of re-offense under all these circumstances," the judge said.
Toto also noted that Goydos' "conduct has had devastating consequences to his own reputation, livelihood and that of his family and employment."
The judge also said, in waiving the minimum state prison term for official misconduct, that any time in state prison "would result in serious injustice."
Though the 300-day sentence was less than the maximum in the plea agreement, Goydos filed an appeal, arguing that Toto had improperly relied on the allegations in the dismissed counts and failed to justify a jail sentence.
But the appellate court disagreed, saying that the sentence "does not shock the judicial conscience."
The appellate court also noted that Toto sentenced Goydos to a shorter time in jail than requested by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
Two civil lawsuits were filed in Superior Court against Goydos. One was dismissed and the other was adjourned pending the outcome of the appeal.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Rutgers ex-doctor guilty of official misconduct, theft loses appeal
