Dr. Gebhardt sanctioned by CPSA over sexual abuse accusation
By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on September 16, 2023.
https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews A doctor in Medicine Hat will be sanctioned after a disabled man accused him of sexual abuse, but will be allowed to keep seeing patients with a chaperone present at least until final penalties are determined by a professional conduct board in February. Ian Gebhardt was initially charged criminally with sexual assault and sexual exploitation in 2017, when the developmentally disabled man told case workers and relatives that oral sex took place during a checkup. That criminal case however, was stayed by Crown prosecutors after the complainant provided some contradictory testimony in court. Professional conduct hearings were revived by the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons level in 2022 after Gebhardt was charged by police in Ontario with two counts of sexual interference dating back to the 1980s. The status of that criminal case was not immediately clear on Friday. On Thursday, the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons announced in a bulletin that Gebhardt had been found guilty of “inappropriate sexual touching against a vulnerable patient” after hearings were held last fall. Gebhardt, who has practised medicine in the city since 2007, is appealing that verdict, as well as a request to immediately suspend his practice by the college’s director of enforcement. The notice from the college states that since the offences date from before the implementation of Act to Protect Patients, the mandatory penalties in cases of sexual misconduct are not at its disposal. “The tribunal determined the duty to protect the public is satisfied at this time with the current condition on Dr. Gebhardt’s practice permit, requiring he have a CPSA-approved chaperone present for all patient encounters,” it reads. “The tribunal balanced the duty of CPSA and the Hearing Tribunal to ensure the public is protected with the Tribunal’s obligation to ensure due process and fairness in their decision-making.” The decision of the conduct panel describes the case against Gebhardt and his defence. The patient had the mental capacity of a nine-year-old, and was generally interested in sex but had been on general medication that as a side effect dulled his libido, according to the decision. A change in prescriptions earlier that year led to behavioural problems, relatives testified. After the June 2017 appointment, the patient told a social worker and relatives that Gebhardt stroked and put his mouth on the man’s penis. Gebhardt said the incident did not happen and his lawyers argued the accusation could stem from the man’s altered perceptions due to the prescription change. In its decision, a panel of three doctors on the tribunal who heard four days of testimony found Gebhardt guilty on the balance of probabilities that he committed the acts and convinced the man to perform oral sex on him. 17-16
