Johns Hopkins is set to pay a $190 million settlement to the victims of gynecologist Dr. Nikita Levy, who secretly filmed his patients during their gynecological exams.

At least 8,500 women were part of the class-action lawsuit.

In a statement released last Monday, the plaintiffs' lawyers stated that their clients were extremely upset when they found out about what Levy had done. "They felt a great breach of faith and trust. They felt betrayed. Now, with this proposed settlement, we can begin the process of healing our community."

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Levy was working at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, one of the most influential hospital systems in the country - that is, until a colleague of Levy's discovered that he was filming his patients with a spy camera.

Last February, supervisors were told that Levy always wore a suspicious instrument around his neck every time he examined his patients. The device, which looked like a pen, was in fact a spy camera.

Officials later found out that aside from the device he always wore, Levy also had several spy cameras in his office which were set up to film patients during their visits. Levy's 25 years in practice is believed to have resulted in thousands of possible victims.

Facing an impending criminal investigation, the doctor killed himself in his home last February, less than two weeks after being escorted out of the hospital. He was 54.

He left a farewell letter to his wife and 10 hard drives containing more than 1,200 videos and 140 photos of patients. It was rather impossible to tell who was in the footage because oftentimes, only genitals were shown.

With Levy dead, his patients could only file a class-action lawsuit against Johns Hopkins.

The Baltimore police believe that Levy had no accomplices. There is also no proof that he distributed the videos and images to anyone else. 

TagsNikita Levy, johns hopkins lawsuit, johns hopkins scandal