Doctor’s sexual misconduct trial goes forward

A sexual assault case against a doctor with a large medical practice in Cyprus is moving forward, while questions have been raised over a messenger company that failed for months to serve him court documents as well as a prior conviction that fell through the cracks.

Attorney General George Savvides took to Twitter on Monday to confirm he had instructed police prosecutors to file a case against a medical doctor, who is being accused of sexual assault by a female patient.

The story made headlines after a local daily newspaper began investigating a complaint filed by a woman in her early 20’s, who accused the Nicosia doctor of drugging and sexually molesting her back in the summer of 2020.

Reports said the original complaint was made in August 2020 and a court case was filed the following month, but the case was later dropped in January 2021 after the messenger failed to serve the documents.

According to daily Politis, the woman alleged that female nurses would often leave the room and the doctor would close the curtains, during which time he proceeded to sexually molest her a total of four times in just a few minutes.

The patient’s mother, who was sitting in the waiting room, reportedly told Politis that the doctor would come out and give her updates saying “your daughter is just fine health-wise but she is stressed out, depressed, and scared because I told her we need to reduce her meds… so I’d better keep her in the room until she is feeling normal again.”

But the daughter argues that during moments she was alone with the doctor in the examination room, he would pull the curtains while also making sure nobody was nearby and proceed to molest her sexually.

The doctor, who was called into the police station days after the complaint, denied the charges, telling investigators the patient was delirious.

He went on to say that the woman was extremely happy and way too forward with him, following news that tests did not show any illness, while also denying that female nurses had ever left the doctor alone with the patient.

Local media that picked up the story raised questions over the long period it took the doctor to be served with court documents, with reports saying he was a well-known doctor still working at the same medical facility to this day.

The patient’s mother also alleged that police officers had warned her that her daughter would need to be prepared for a series of humiliating questions from the doctor’s lawyer, while it was understood that she claimed an officer had volunteered to speak with the physician on a possible settlement deal.

Following the allegations in the media, the Cyprus Medical Association was also criticized this week for not taking disciplinary action against the doctor, with CMA representatives saying they had no knowledge of the accusations.

Prior conviction

But it later emerged that the doctor in question was convicted of sexual crimes in the past, when he was found guilty of sexual assault against a 19-year-old girl. Reports said he tried to settle the case financially outside of court but he ended up being convicted as well as having to pay a fine.

Reports said he faced two charges in the previous case, including indecent assault and sexual harassment, after the young woman had accused him of putting his arms around her, kissing her on the neck, trying to kiss her in the mouth, and then touching her buttocks.

CMA said they had no knowledge of the doctor’s prior conviction, while the mother of the latest accuser insists she had phoned the network to fill them in but had to jump through hoops including waiting on a court conviction before sending them a notification.