RIVERSIDE — A physician and operator of a Riverside skin care clinic was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of sexually assaulting a patient.

Dr. Sam Sannoufi, 52, of Newport Beach was booked into the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside on suspicion of sexual battery and forcible digital penetration.

Sannoufi posted a $1 million bond and was released within a few hours.

According to Riverside Police Department Officer Ryan Railsback, a woman contacted the agency’s Sexual Assault-Child Abuse Unit earlier this month, alleging that she was assaulted by the suspect during a consultation at his business, Timeless Skincare Laser Clinic Primary Care at 6900 Brockton Ave.

The specific circumstances behind the alleged offense, and the victim’s identity, were not disclosed.

Railsback said SACA detectives gathered sufficient evidence to obtain an arrest warrant, and Sannoufi was summoned to the department’s Orange Street station, where he was taken into custody without incident.

“Investigators believe there may be other victims who have not yet come forward,” the police spokesman said.

Anyone with information was encouraged to contact SACA investigators at 951-353-7950.

Sannoufi has no documented prior misdemeanor or felony convictions in Riverside County.

According to the Medical Board of California, the suspect has been a licensed doctor in the state since March 2009. He is a graduate of the Ukrainian State Medical University in Kyiv and has no listed disciplinary actions, administrative citations or malpractice suits on file with regulators.

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