An Italian doctor was caught half-naked with a patient on camera after he claimed to her that having sex with him will "cure" her of her fertility issues.

Dr. Giovanni Miniello, who went by the nickname "Dr. Magic Flute," has resigned after an undercover investigation by the Italian TV show "Le Lene" caught him red-handed in a hotel room with a female patient he was about to "cure." The woman who helped catch the doctor's crime on camera said that she had gone to the doctor about her fertility issues. He suggested to her that she had indications of human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually-transmitted virus that can cause cancer, even though she had tested negative for it in a smear test, reports The Mirror.

The gynecologist reportedly told her, "I have saved many women from cancer. All those I have had contact with were negative afterwards."

The 33-year-old woman has been identified as Anna Maria. She revealed that she consulted the doctor after she hasn't been able to get pregnant, and was advised to have a cervical screening for HPV. She told La Repubblica that the doctor had been unprofessional right from the beginning and even touched her breasts without any explanation, reportedly telling her that he liked women with small breasts.

When she contacted him for the results of the HPV test, he allegedly told her she could be cured by having sex with him and offered an appointment to her. The woman, horrified with the proposition, was already suspicious of the doctor and had sought legal advice, due to which she was able to record their conversation and take it to the investigative news programme.

The channel then hired an actress who approached the doctor about fertility issues, and was told that having sex with him will solve it and also give her immunity since he is vaccinated. As he undressed in the under-surveillance hotel room, he told the actress that she would be free from the virus afterwards. When she asked him why he was not going to use any protection, he told her it would be pointless since she would not get the benefits of the antibodies if he had latex on.

Soon after, the journalists stormed into the room, where the half-naked doctor said in his defence, "I'm doing this for my studies, and for the other people that I have saved."

After the undercover investigation was aired, 15 other women came forward with similar allegations against the medical professional who practiced at a clinic in the southern Italian city of Bari. The 60-year-old doctor said through his lawyer, "I, who have successfully treated hundreds of women for over 40 years... only proposed an alternative treatment that has yielded results."

He added that he never coerced his victims to have sex with him and always gave them "absolute freedom of choice." Meanwhile, the public prosecutor in Bari has opened an investigation into the matter.

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