SoCal rehab centers owner convicted of sexually assaulting patients

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A man who owned and operated 13 Southern California drug treatment and rehabilitation centers has been convicted of sexually assaulting seven patients.

Christopher Bathum, 56, owned Community Recovery treatment centers in Los Angeles and Orange counties, as well as six in Colorado.

Prosecutors said Bathum, who described himself as "the rehab mogul," provided patients with drugs as they battled addiction and then assaulted them while they were high.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said a jury deliberated for a day before finding Bathum guilty of charges including forcible rape, sexual penetration by foreign object, forcible oral copulation and sexual exploitation. The panel acquitted Bathum on 12 similar counts and deadlocked on three others.

Bathum also faces charges of insurance fraud, theft and money laundering in a separate case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.