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Allegations of Sexual
Abuse in NZ |
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The trial of a doctor accused of
sexually assaulting patients has begun in the High Court in New Plymouth. The doctor, whose identity is
suppressed, has pleaded not guilty to 37 charges including indecently
assaulting a dozen female patients. The defence lawyer Harry Waalkens
asked the jurors to consider the complainants' reliability, taking into
account mental illness and psychiatric or psychological issues. He also said the time that has
passed since the alleged assaults could affect witness reliability. The Crown says its witnesses will
tell similar stories of sexual assaults escalating under the guise of
intimate examinations between 1981 and 2003 Radio New Zealand Jurors in the High Court in New
Plymouth have been told they'll hear similar descriptions of a series of
alleged sexual assaults on female patients by a local doctor. The doctor, whose identity is
suppressed, has pleaded not guilty to 37 charges including indecently
assaulting female patients, including a girl aged between 12 and 16. The Crown says the alleged
assaults took place between 1981 and 2003. In its opening address, the Crown
said witnesses will tell the court of sexual assaults which escalated under
the guise of intimate examinations. The defence asked the jurors to
keep in mind medical justifications for his client's actions, and how they
might have been misinterpreted. He also told them to consider the
reliability of the complainants given the passage of time and what
explanation they gave for the delay in coming forward. |
