An obstetrician and gynecologist who practiced at clinics in Burien and Federal Way until 2003 now faces up to 23 years in prison for sexually abusing four of his patients.

Dr. Charles Momah, 49, was convicted Nov. 16 by a jury in King County Superior Court on two counts of rape and two counts of indecent liberties.

Superior Court Judge Michael Trickey, who presided over the four-week-long trial, will sentence Momah later. No date has been set for the pre-sentence hearing.

Momah also faces civil lawsuits filed by more than 30 former patients.

These women, who seek to recover economic damages, claim the doctor sexually assaulted or took indecent liberties with them and performed unnecessary medical procedures on them -- sometimes without wearing gloves or with unsterile instruments.

Deputy King County Prosecutor Roger Rogoff said he was pleased jurors believed the testimony of the women who said Momah had abused them.

Rogoff praised them for having “courage to come forward and explain what had happened to them.”

The women testified that Momah either got them hooked on painkillers and sexually assaulted them in exchange for more medication, or made indecent remarks and fondled them during exams.

Momah’s clinics have been closed since 2003 after his medical license was suspended following a complaint by one of the rape victims to the state Department of Health.

She had gone to a hospital after the rape and had DNA evidence collected, which matched Momah’s DNA.

Harish Bharti, an attorney representing three of the women Momah was convicted of abusing in the civil cases, said after the verdict that his clients been living in fear of the doctor since he was released after posting bail more than a year ago.

But Momah's attorney, Dave Allen, said he would appeal the verdicts because the judge allowed testimony from three women whose accusations weren't part of the criminal charges.

During the trial, Momah repeatedly denied abusing the women and said his sexual relationships with two of them were consensual.

Born in Nigeria, Momah practiced as an obstetrician and gynecologist in Washington from 1993 until his medical license was suspended in 2003.

His legal problems do not end with last week’s guilty verdicts. Bharti has filed more than 30 suits against Momah and his twin brother, Dr. Dennis Momah, on behalf of women who claim the men sexually assaulted or harassed them.

And Momah faces additional criminal charges for allegedly double-billing insurance companies.

Momah was taken to jail in handcuffs after the jury delivered its verdicts of guilty on one count of second-degree rape, one count of third-degree rape and two counts of indecent liberties.

Allen had argued that the women lacked credibility because some admitted using Momah as a source for drugs, some returned to his office after the alleged abuse, and one admitted blackmailing him.

Momah testified that his actions showed poor judgment, they amounted to unprofessional, not criminal, behavior.