A 44-year-old Indian-origin woman doctor has been arrested and charged with performing genital mutilation on girls aged 6 to 8. Believed to be the first such incident in the US., Jumana Nagarwala, an emergency room physician, has been charged with performing female genital mutilation (FGM) on minor girls out of a medical office in Livonia, Michigan. Ms. Nagarwala is scheduled to appear in federal court in Detroit.

According to the complaint, some of the minor victims allegedly travelled inter-state to have Ms. Nagarwala perform the procedure.

The girls were later interviewed by a forensic expert and one of the girls said she was told that she was coming to Detroit for a “special” girls trip, but after arriving at the hotel, she learned that she and the other girl had to go to the doctor as “our tummies hurt“. The girls had been taken to Ms. Nagarwala, who performed the procedure on the girls.

The number of girls under 18 at risk for FGM in the US has quadrupled since 1997. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 5,13,000 women and girls are at risk of FGM in the US.

Congress passed a law in 1996 making it illegal to perform genital mutilation or cutting in the US on anyone under than 18. FGM is punishable by up to five years in prison, however, it is not a crime in 26 US states, including Michigan.

“...despite her oath to care for her patients, Nagarwala is alleged to have performed horrifying acts of brutality on the most vulnerable victims,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement on Thursday.