DOCTOR ARRESTED IN SEX CRIMES.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

VALENCIA - A family practitioner at the Facey Medical Center in Valencia was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of sexually assaulting two middle-age female patients, officials said.

Dr. Arthur Mason, 33, of Stevenson Ranch is being held at the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station in lieu of $1 million bail.

He is expected to be arraigned Friday on charges of sexual battery and other sex crimes, said Detective Linda Kneist of the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station. The case is being prosecuted by the sexual assault unit of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Mason is also facing similar charges in two cases being handled by the Los Angeles Police Department, officials said.

The reported assaults at the Facey Medical Center on Valencia Boulevard occurred Friday and Monday, officials said.

In each case, Mason began what appeared to be a normal examination procedure, but then proceeded to engage in criminal conduct, Kneist said.

Mason had been a part-time doctor at the Valencia facility since Nov. 1 and submitted his resignation Monday, said Mary Braw, a spokeswoman for Facey.

``He has been accused of improper conduct and is no longer affiliated with Facey,'' Braw said.

Mason has worked at a number of locations in the county and could have assaulted other women who have not yet come forward, Kneist said, adding that victims are often reluctant to report misconduct by doctors.

Additional patients who believe they might have been victims of Mason are asked to call Kneist at the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station at [phone].