Sukhjeevan Sharma,
INVC,
CANADA,
An Indo- Canadian anesthesiologist was found guilty of sexually assaulting 21 women while they were helplessly under anesthesia but aware of what was happening. Dr. George Doodnaught was accused of kissing, fondling and forcing oral sex on the patients at North York General Hospital in Toronto during a four-year period that ended in 2010.The victims were aware of what was happening but could not move, the court heard on Monday. The defense argued that the victims actually had vivid sexual dreams caused by sedatives known to play tricks with memory, and that Doodnaught could not have assaulted them undetected by others separated only by a surgical screen in the operating room. A researcher confirmed at trial that the drugs can cause hallucinations. But he added that it is unlikely that all of the women, who did not know each other, would come forward separately with similar accusations against the same doctor.
The prosecution said Doodnaught was an experienced doctor who knew the routines of a busy operating room, and timed the brief assaults to avoid detection.”He had control over their level of anaesthesia and would have known that they could not openly resist,” Ontario Superior Court Judge David McCombs said in his ruling.”He relied on the amnesiac effects of the drugs to shield him from complaints.”Doodnaught was known as a “touchy feely” doctor, often stroking a patient’s cheek or hair to soothe them during surgery, so his physical proximity during surgery didn’t arouse suspicion with other staff, the judge found, reported CP24.”He was familiar with the surgical procedures and would know when it was safe to commit the relatively brief assaults without being seen,” Ontario Superior Court Judge David McCombs ruled.”He had control over (his patients’) level of anesthesia and would have known that they could not openly resist. He relied on the amnesiac effects of the drugs to shield him from complaints.”By the time the first of the 21 women went to police after her surgery on Feb.11, 2010, North York General Hospital had, in fact, received three such complaints between 2006 and 2008, but had not acted on them. The assaults rose “dramatically” in frequency until that woman went to police, the judge said.
The first six assaults were spread over 3 1/2 years, while in the las tsix months before he was stopped there were 15, McCombs noted. The hospital told Doodnaught to take a leave of absence after the last woman he assaulted went to police. The hospital said Tuesday the doctor would not be returning there and the College of Physicians and Surgeons will now determine his professional fate. The woman, who can’t be identified due to a publication ban, said she was proud of the other women who came forward after Doodnaught was charged and police publicized his arrest, and she” finally” believes in the justice system.”It never mattered to me what people thought of me or what they thought of any of the other victims,” the woman said. “It mattered to me what I knew had happened. I was awake. I knew it happened.”Several of Doodnaught’s victims were in court as the verdict was read, and some people in the packed, standing room only courtroom could be heard sighing with relief or whispering “Yes.”All but one of the assaults happened during surgeries at North York General Hospital, where the CEO said Tuesday that such crimes were previously unheard of and he isn’t aware of another case like this anywhere.
“The sacred bond of caring and trust was broken by a doctor who worked here,” Tim Rutledge said. “That he did this in an operating room, a place of ultimate trust, is difficult to understand and frankly shocking.” Rutledge apologized on behalf of the hospital to all of the victims for the ”profound impact” Doodnaught’s crime shave had on their lives. The hospital has since made changes to how it addresses and tracks patient complaints, he said. The judge rejected the evidence of defence experts who suggested patients under conscious sedation could have hallucinated the sexual assaults. He said Crown evidence that such hallucinations are “virtually unheard of” is entitled to considerable weight. Crown attorney David Wright said in a brief statement after the verdict that “justice has been served, 21 times.” Doodnaught’s lawyer Brian Greenspan said his client is “very disappointed” by the verdict and may decide to appeal. Doodnaught’s wife, who was also in court for the verdict, refused to stand for the judge when he walked back into the court room after a short break to discuss dates for sentencing arguments with lawyers. Doodnaught, who remains free on bail until sentencing, did not comment when he left the court house .A date for sentencing arguments is to be set Dec. 13
