A member of the Medical Board of California is sounding the alarm once again on what he calls a dangerous gap in patient safety.

Eserick TJ Watkins is a public member of the Board, meaning he’s not a medical doctor like several other board members. He says the Board often takes years to investigate doctors accused of serious crimes, like sexual misconduct against patients, while the number of alleged victims piles up.

One such doctor includes Milpitas-based physician and sleep specialist Sanjay Agarwal, MD, who the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has reported on since December.

Dr. Agarwal is criminally charged with felony sexual battery against a patient and misdemeanor sexual battery against a job applicant. Both cases are ongoing. Dr. Agarwal has pleaded not guilty in the misdemeanor case and has yet to enter a plea in the felony case.

In the past six months, he’s been arrested and bailed out of jail twice after a total of five alleged victims have gone to police saying he touched them inappropriately either at work or during their appointment with him. NBC Bay Area spoke to a woman who had an appointment with Dr. Agarwal during this period who said she wishes she had known he was under investigation.

The Milpitas Police Department says they alerted the Medical Board of California in September 2025 about the complaints it received. Since then, and as of Thursday afternoon, Dr. Agarwal’s public profile with the Medical Board of California continues to show no disciplinary action by the Board and no mention of his arrests.

There is a section about court orders that showed no records posted either. On February 5, Dr. Agarwal was ordered by a Santa Clara County judge to not see any female patients without another adult in the room. That wasn’t reflected on his public Medical Board profile until NBC Bay Area asked the agency about it last Friday. A Board representative said the court didn’t notify them and thanked NBC Bay Area for alerting the Board.

“The public is blind to what the doctor’s true record is. The Medical Board takes upwards from three years up to four years sometimes to investigate the case,” said Watkins.

Watkins is a frequent critic of the board and is renewing his fight to change state legislation to make serious medical board reviews of physicians public. The Board has the primary authority over a doctor’s ability to practice.

“So that the power is in the public’s hands to decide whether they still want to go tothat doctor. Right now, we’re making that decision for them. We are falsely representing that this doctor is safe,” he said.

Dr. Agarwal denies the sexual misconduct allegations against him, and his office stayed open for months after his arrests. In January 2025, NBC Bay Area spoke with him outside his office, and he said he’s not seeing any patients anymore and closing his office. His attorney said this was a voluntary decision. 

When asked if doctors deserve due process and that publicizing an investigation before a final determination may unfairly ruin a doctor’s reputation, Watkins said that’s a fair statement.

“But there’s a problem with that. The Medical Board’s mandate is to protect the public,” he said.  

Watkins first raised the board disciplinary issue three years ago and brought it up again at the Board’s latest meeting in February. Citing data from the Board’s annual reports that the Investigative Unit has verified, he said the number of complaints against doctors have been stable while permanent removal or formal discipline have both declined.

“Right now, this looks like we’re not protecting the public. We’re going in a different direction,” he said at the meeting.

Responding to him, the Board’s Chief of Enforcement Sharlene Smith said, “Yes, you’re right the complaint numbers have been consistent, but you also have to factor in what are those complaints…Then there are anonymous. People who don’t respond to our request.”

Watkins believes the Medical Board has a culture and a system that supports a culture that protects doctors over patients. He says this culture puts patients at risk.

“Absolutely, every single day,” he said. “We forget about the patient, the patient’s family and how they’ve been impacted. That has been troubling me since I started on the Medical Board.”

In an emailed statement to the Investigative Unit, Board Public Information Officer Alexandria Schembra said, “Differences in the number of revocations from year-to-year does not mean the Board is not appropriately protecting the public. The Board welcomes further discussion with Mr. Watkins.”

Later this year, the Medical Board will propose new changes to laws to the legislature. That’s when Schembra says board members will be able to consider Watkins’ proposal to make serious investigations of doctors public.

Part 1: Milpitas sleep doctor faces sexual misconduct claims by patient, employees, job applicant

Part 2: Exclusive: Fifth possible victim comes forward accusing Milpitas sleep doctor

Part 3: Doctor charged with sexual battery is allowed to keep practicing. Here’s why

If you have a question or comment about this story, reach out to Senior Investigative Reporter Candice Nguyen by email, candice.nguyen@nbcuni.com.