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Allegations of Sexual
Abuse in NZ |
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Witnesses in the High Court trial
of a New Plymouth doctor gave testimony about his character, faith and values
yesterday. Catholic priest Thomas Lawn
described the doctor as a committed family man and said his reputation as a
doctor was of an honourable man who was always available and helpful to his
patients. "I believe he is a very
honest man," Father Lawn told defence counsel Susan Hughes. "He always appeared to be a
very good family man, very faithful to his wife and there for his
family." The doctor, whose name is
suppressed, is on trial for sex offences against female patients between 1981
and 2002. The doctor has denied the 37 charges made against him by 12
complainants. A colleague and friend of the
doctor said he was a straightforward and honest man. "I think he is very devoted
to his work and I know that he works long hours. There have been occasions
where someone may have lost their job or had difficulties and he has helped
them out," she said. Asked by Ms Hughes about the
doctor's facial expressions, the woman, who is also a doctor, said when he
was deep in thought he would often stare into the distance or have a bulging
eye look. During cross-examination by Crown
prosecutor Cherie Clarke, the woman was asked if she had ever seen the doctor
looking like a caught out schoolboy. She said she had not. The woman accepted that there
would be no medical reason to roll a patient's nipples during acupuncture on
the back and shoulder. Retired New Plymouth gynaecologist
Paul Dempsey told the court that during his 30-year career it was unusual for
a woman to want to have a chaperone present during vaginal examinations. He told defence counsel Harry
Waalkens QC that he believed it was because many women found the examinations
embarrassing and having a third person in the room added to that
embarrassment. Dr Dempsey said he knew the
accused professionally. "I had reason to believe that
he was a conscientious and thorough practitioner. He seemed to go out of his
way to help them (his patients) and was always available to them," Dr
Dempsey said. He told Ms Clarke that manually
stimulating a woman's clitoris was not a medical examination. "Neither should a doctor get
an erect penis when doing a vaginal examination," Ms Clarke said. "No." It is expected the defence will
complete its case today, with a further eight witnesses to be called |
