Judge Walter E. Steele's sentence in the case also caused controversy. Although they could have received a maximum sentence of 60 years--20 years for each rape--Steele sentenced the three doctors to serve only three to five years in prison and suspended all but six months of the sentence with a year's probation after release. The average sentence for a rape conviction in Massachusetts is 11 years and the minimum recommended is 19 months.

The light sentences drew criticism from women's groups, who contended that the doctors' status contributed to their short prison terms. It was "another case where the punishment fit the criminal, not the crime," a spokesman for a local rape crisis center said.

Free pending the appeal of his conviction. Hussain disappeared for a few months, but last September he resurfaced at the Buffalo Children's Hospital when two additional charges were brought against him.

Two women charged that Hussain assaulted them while they were patients at Waltham Hospital in 1978. Although the charges predate the DiPietro case, the women did not file their complaints until reading about the later case in the papers.

In testimony at a probable cause hearing last November, Lindsay Kilgore said that Hussain awakened her at 3 a.m. when who was in the hospital being treated for viral meningitis during October, 1978. She said that Hussain placed his hand on her stomach and began rubbing in a circular motion down towards her vagina. She also felt material and something hand being placed in her hand. Until this point she had pretended so be asleep but when she began to move about. Hussain left and she summoned the nurse.

Kilgore's doctor testified that she was being treated with powerful painkilling drugs the night of the alleged assualt and Hussain's attorney. Kenneth M. Goldberg, charged that the combination of the drugs and her very painful illness completely distorted her perception of Hussain's visit toher room.

As in the rape trail, last summer, Hussain does not deny having professional contact with the woman but has denied any impropriety.

Judith McDonalt, the second alleged victim, testified that shortly after midnight on March 26, 1978, she was in great pain from a backache and sciatic nerve injury and Hussain gave her a morplunie injection. After giving her the morpline McDonald said. Hussain placed her in restraints and moved her call bell our of reach. When the nurse who was assisting him left the room, he removed her pants and raped her, she charged. After the rape, she added, Hussain threatened to put her in pain for the rest of her life if she ever told anyone about the attack.

Both McDonald and Kilgore mentioned that Hussain had visited them during the night, but neither complaint was investigated. Kilgore told the nurse that Hussain "put his hands on me." The nurse said she reported the incident to her superiors, who relayed the complaint to the hospital administration, but apparently it was never mentioned again. McDonald complained that Hussain had awakened her to perform a series of tests including a rectal exam but--fearing reprisal--did not mention the alleged rape. McDonald's doctor said he was "not impressed" to learn that a doctor had performed a 3 a.m. examination, but he never discussed the matter with either McDonald or Hussain.

After hearing the evidence. Judge Kevin R. Doyle found no probable cause in the charge of assault with attempt to rape Kilgore but did bind the two remaining charges--assault and battery on Kilgore and rape of McDonald--over to a grand jury.

The grand jury hears only evidence from the prosecution in closed proceedings, and despite Judge Doyle's decision, assistant Middlesex Dist. Atty. William Kettlewell presented evidence on all three charges. On December 16, the jury indicted Hussain on all three charges.

Throughout the court proceedings. Hussain's case has proved difficult to defend. In a surprise move at Hussain's arraigement in December, his attorney, Kenneth Goldberg, cited time pressures and said he will be unable to defend Hussain when the Waltham charges come to trial this spring. Goldberg will still represent the doctor at the rape appeal later this summer.

It appears that Hussain's defense strategy has also changed. At the end of December the doctor called his first news conference to discuss the case.

Hussain's wife and infant daughter were also present for the first time. (His wife had been noticeably absent from the probable cause hearing after she made several vocal outbursts during last year's trial.) She has said several times in the last month that she believes her husband to be innocent and will stand by him during the upcoming court action which is scheduled to begin with a pre-trial hearing February 28.

The entire case has had serious repercussions for the medical community. Because of a backlog of cases in the state licensing board and a regulation that permits doctors to practice while their cases are under review. Hussain was able to obtain a job at Buffalo Children's Hospital even after his conviction.