A Forrest City doctor, Dr. Sudesh Banaji, 61, was found guilty Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, of six counts of second-degree sexual assault in St. Francis County Circuit Court. The conviction and sentencing stemmed from multiple sexual assaults involving female patients.
Banaji was sentenced to six years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections and ordered to pay $90,000 in fines, according to a release from the Arkansas State Police.
The investigation began in August 2023 when the First Judicial District Prosecutor’s Office asked the Arkansas State Police’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to investigate allegations of inappropriate sexual contact with patients during examinations at Banaji’s medical clinic in Forrest City.
Following the investigation, CID special agents arrested Banaji on Aug. 26, 2024.
Dr. Sudesh Banaji
File image: Internal Medicine of Forrest City
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