A doctor in New Hampshire is facing seven felony charges after authorities say he was having sex with one of his patients.
You can see Dr. Hugh MacDonald's name on a sign along the main road just before you enter downtown Newmarket. But now, the trusted physician is facing serious allegations and community members are shocked.
"It seems like the worst kind of violation that could happen, especially from your doctor," said nearby resident Chloe Lee.
MacDonald, a doctor at Wentworth Health Partners Great Bay Family Practice, was arrested at his Newmarket office on Friday, charged with seven counts of aggravated felony sex assault.
"It makes it more shocking when it is a trusted person in the community," said Kristin Pacelli of Newmarket.
MacDonald is accused of having sex with an adult woman during March and April of this year. The Rockingham County Attorney Patricia Conway says that woman was one of MacDonald's patients.
"If you're a doctor and treating someone, you cannot engage in sexual penetration with a patient during their course of treatment or one year after," Conway explained.
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Dr. MacDonald posted bail over the weekend, but nobody answered the door at his listed Newfields address.
There are still a lot of questions in this case, but community members call the initial allegations disturbing.
"It scares me that it happens so easily," said local resident Kristina Schafer.
"The trust you have with a doctor is almost sacred in some way, so it really does make you feel, I'm not sure the word 'icky' is right, but it's really problematic, I think," said Robert Smith.
Wentworth Douglass Hospital released a statement saying that Dr. MacDonald is on administrative leaving pending the outcome of this investigation. He will not be working at the hospital or at the office pending further developments.
He's due back in court for arraignment on Friday.
