Doctor held for trial in groping case

A North Hills dermatologist will go to trial on charges he groped a female patient.

Dr. Neil Niren, 53, is accused of fondling a woman's breasts and kissing her during an April 22 appointment at his McCandless office, court documents state. McCandless District Judge William Wagner on Aug. 9 ordered Niren to stand trial on an indecent assault charge.

"Our position is that the story is totally fabricated," said Stanton Levenson, Niren's lawyer. "She was strictly a patient for years. (The charge) caught us totally off guard. I don't know why it was filed."

If convicted, Niren could have his medical license suspended or revoked, said Leslie Amoros, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of State.

According to court documents:

The woman, 24, who had been a patient for five or six years, had a 12:45 p.m. Saturday appointment. No office staff was present.

Niren told the woman to remove her clothes from the waist up. Niren then performed a skin treatment on the woman's face and on the center of her chest.

During the treatment, Niren fondled her and told her to "turn toward him" before kissing her.

The woman jumped off the table, scrambling for her shirt. Niren then removed his own shirt and pulled the woman toward him in an embrace.

Two days later, the woman left a message for Niren, telling him how upset she was. That prompted four return calls from Niren in less than 20 minutes. The woman played a message from Niren for police in which he said he was sorry for upsetting her.