(Houston Chronicle) When a former Houston doctor was sentenced to probation Friday for raping an incapacitated patient at a county hospital, the punishment surprised defense attorneys, disappointed law enforcement, elicited concern from a rape victims advocacy group and sparked outrage on social media.

The doctor, who has been stripped of his license, admitted during the trial that he had sexual contact with the woman during the night shift at Ben Taub Hospital in 2013, but told jurors it was consensual. Although he was not assigned to her case, he slipped into her room anyway after he noticed her breast implants.

Veteran defense lawyers with no connection to the case called the outcome “unusual” and “a big victory” for the defense, explaining there was a very high likelihood a person who did not turn himself in to law enforcement and misrepresented the assault would face prison time.

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