A family doctor who used to work in the canton of Zurich defended himself against the allegation of desecration on Friday before the Zurich Higher Court. He is said to have vaginally examined a young patient who came to him with cold symptoms without medical necessity. He is threatened with a lifelong professional ban.
The 51-year-old German appealed against the ruling of the Zurich District Court from November 2020. The court had sentenced him to a conditional prison sentence of 22 months for desecration. The court also imposed a lifelong professional ban. The Zurich Health Directorate then withdrew his license to practice.
He is therefore currently not working, said the accused on Friday in front of the higher court.
Anal and vaginal examination performed
The incident, which the doctor was charged with, occurred in October 2019 in a medical center in the canton of Zurich. The doctor examined a patient there who is normally looked after by a colleague in the practice. However, this was not available.
The woman, a then 18-year-old Swiss woman, complained of cold symptoms and needed a doctor’s certificate. However, the doctor did more extensive tests on her – including an anal exam and a vagina exam.
The doctor justified his action with complaints about which the woman had at several previous visits to the doctor in the previous weeks and months. Abdominal pain and blood in the stool were mentioned in the patient dossier. A cause has never been found.
The accused takes a position for the first time
“I wanted to rule out various possible causes with the examinations carried out, for example appendicitis or an ectopic pregnancy,” said the doctor during the questioning. He commented on the allegations for the first time in front of the higher court. In the lower court he made use of his right to remain silent.
As a doctor, it was his duty to examine the patient for possible diseases that would require quick action. He had also explained to the patient in detail in a preliminary discussion which examinations he intended to do. She did not express any objections, not even with regard to the anal and vaginal examinations.
Doctor inserted several fingers during examination
This sounded differently in the descriptions of the private plaintiff and her lawyer. She was surprised when the doctor examined her vaginally after the anal examination. To do this, he introduced one or more fingers, among others.
The prosecutor asked for confirmation of the lower court judgment. The accused was to be convicted of desecration, the statements he had now made before the High Court for the first time were not credible. The vaginal examination was a sexual assault that should be punished as desecration.
According to the prosecutor, this is supported by the fact that the family doctor documented his examinations on the patient in great detail in her dossier – except for the vaginal examination, which is completely missing. In addition, the medical center had dismissed the accused because of the incident – on the grounds that he had committed a sexual assault. He accepted this termination.
“The allegations against me are not true,” said the accused in his closing remarks. He would very much like to go back to work as a family doctor, as he had done for years. The higher court has not yet passed its judgment. This is expected to be sent in writing to those involved in the coming week. (cat / SDA)