LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court on Monday overturned the conviction of a former campus gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, on sex abuse charges. Appeals court overturns former UCLA gynecologist’s sex abuse conviction James Heaps was sentenced in 2023 to 11 years in prison for sexually abusing female patients. The ruling ordered the case to be sent back for retrial. A three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled Heaps was denied a fair trial because his defense counsel was not made aware of a note pointing out concerns that one juror lacked sufficient English to carry out their duties. Heaps was accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of patients during his 35-year career and UCLA made nearly $700 million in payouts over lawsuits connected to the allegations. He pleaded not guilty to 21 felony counts in the sexual assaults of seven women between 2009 and 2018. He was convicted in October 2022 of three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of two patients. …