The Italian gynaecologist dubbed Dr Magic Flute has been arrested on allegations of aggravated sexual violence against two women after he claimed he could ‘cure’ them by having sex with them.
Dr Giovanni Miniello resigned from his job following an undercover investigation during which he was found in a hotel room wearing just his underpants after telling a woman he could ‘cure’ her of the human papillomavirus virus (HPV), which can cause cancer.
Miniello, 68, was exposed by journalists from Italian TV show Le Lene, who had been tipped off by a woman who claimed he had offered her the ‘sex cure’.
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The woman claimed she had consulted the doctor after struggling to conceive, where she was told she had signs of HPV - a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cancer - despite having a clear smear test.
Miniello, who practised from a surgery in the southern Italian city of Bari, reportedly told the woman: "I have saved many women from cancer. All those I have had contact with were negative afterwards."
The woman said while she was waiting for her results, the doctor proposed she could be cured by having sex with him in a hotel room.
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After growing suspicious about the doctor, she got in touch with Le Lene.
Producers hired an actor to visit the doctor, who told her she had ‘white spots’ on her cervix which indicated she may have HPV.
He then offered her the same ‘treatment’ as the other woman - sex in a hotel room - which he claimed would give her immunity.
The actor went with the doctor to a hotel room where he undressed and reassured her that once they had had sex, she would no longer have the virus.
At this point, journalists burst into the room, prompting the half-naked doctor to say: "I'm doing this for my studies, and for the other people that I have saved."
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Following the investigation, Miniello is reported to have said through his lawyer: "I, who have successfully treated hundreds of women for over 40 years... only proposed an alternative treatment that has yielded results.”
He also said he had never coerced the women into having sex with him and they always had ‘absolute freedom of choice’.
Since the investigation, 15 other women have come forward claiming they were victims.
The public prosecutor in Bari opened an investigation and the doctor has now been arrested and placed under house arrest.
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The two incidents being investigated allegedly took place in September 2019 and in June 2021, and both were reported by the alleged victims a few months later.
Featured Image Credit: NewsflashTopics: Crime, World News