Miami doctor ‘went beyond all bounds of decency’ and raped patient: lawsuit
A woman is seeking more than $50,000 in damages from a Brickell physician, who is accused of raping her while she was his patient, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
Yamile Nunez filed the complaint against Dr. Ronald DeMeo, 63, for battery, false imprisonment, medical malpractice and intentional infliction of emotional distress stemming from the Sept. 21, 2023, encounter, the lawsuit said.
“DeMeo’s conduct was so extreme and outrageous that it went beyond all bounds of decency and is to be regarded as odious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community,” the lawsuit said.
He runs two clinics, Meridian Cosmetics and Meridian Spine, in Miami’s West Brickell neighborhood. Both are located on the third floor of a medical-office building at 2801 SW Third Ave.
Nunez and her mother visited DeMeo at his clinic for an appointment for Nunez’s mother, the lawsuit said. Nunez mentioned she was interested in having a tattoo removed, and DeMeo told her he could perform the procedure that day.
After he completed the procedure, he allegedly asked Nunez to follow him to another room away from others, closed the door and locked it.
DeMeo is accused of exposing his penis and asking her to “kiss it.” She refused to perform sexual acts on him, the lawsuit said, but he continued to coerce her while she noticed “numerous open needles within the room.”
He forced her to perform sexual acts and raped her while she pleaded with him not to do so and to let her leave the room, the lawsuit said. She was in fear for her life.
“Afterwards, DeMeo finally let Nunez out of the room, where she returned to her mother in the waiting area; however, due to complete shock and fear for her life, she did not tell her mother about DeMeo’s disgusting acts,” the lawsuit said.
Nunez is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and a jury trial after she suffered a black eye and severe psychological damage. She is being represented by attorney Richard Wolfe. Nunez says she had to seek professional psychological help to treat trauma due to the assault.
A few weeks ago, DeMeo was jailed in connection with the incident, court records show. He is facing one count of sexual battery upon a person 18 years or older.
In an interview with Miami police, an employee at the clinic told officers she wanted to confront DeMeo or tell staff or police, but she respected Nunez’s “privacy and her wishes” not to report the incident at that time, according to an arrest affidavit.
“She added that she once saw a condom in a procedure room, and when she commented about it, the staff did not seem surprised,” the affidavit said.
Several clients expressed that DeMeo was touchy, the employee told police. His patients were allowed to self-medicate before a procedure and were offered wine in the waiting room.
Nunez was the second woman to come forward in recent months. In March, DeMeo was arrested on three counts of sexual battery on a physically helpless victim for raping a patient, who had inhaled nitrous oxide, according to an affidavit.
A few days after the October 2025 incident, the woman went through her cellphone and found a video of DeMeo assaulting her, the affidavit said. Investigators watched the video and saw nonconsensual sexual acts and gestures.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo ordered an emergency suspension of DeMeo’s medical license days after his first arrest, according to Florida Department of Health records. He had been licensed since 1989.
DeMeo has been placed under house arrest while awaiting trial, jail records show. A reporter left a message with a receptionist at one of his clinics, and DeMeo didn’t respond. His criminal attorney, Philip Louis Reizenstein, said by email he is not handling civil cases and had not seen Nunez’s lawsuit so he couldn’t comment.
