Dentist tells of horror at allegations

A Christchurch dentist accused of sexually touching three of his patients while they were sedated has told a disciplinary hearing of his horror at the allegations.

He told the Dentists Disciplinary Tribunal in Christchurch yesterday of a "nightmare" that he wished would end.

"I am horrified at the allegations of sexual misconduct that have been made against me," he said. "This matter has been extremely stressful to me and my family. The whole thing has been a nightmare. I wish it would all stop."

The dentist, who has name suppression, is charged with professional misconduct for three alleged incidents, in 1984, 1989 and 2001. In each case he is alleged to have caused the women to touch his penis while they were sedated. He is also accused of administering higher than the recommended maximum dose of sedative to the three women.

He was acquitted in 2002 after a court trial prompted by the alleged incident in 2001.

The dentist yesterday rejected a suggestion by prosecution counsel Brent Stanaway that he had an "unfortunate predilection for offending against young, petite females". He rejected as "rubbish" Stanaway's suggestion that "the fact that somebody was nearby and you might be detected added to the excitement for you in all this".

The hearing has already heard from the three women who made the allegations.

The woman involved in the 2001 incident told the tribunal that she came round from sedation to find the dentist's penis in her hand. The dentist yesterday said the patient was sedated and he was moving a prop in her mouth when "she suddenly awoke and expressed anger and rage and was trying to say something".

"She was aggressive and threw her arms above her shoulders and struck me on the forehead. I ducked out of the way and she continued to try to hit me, and I got out of my stool to avoid her arms," he said.

The dentist called his assistant for help, and they both tried to calm the patient. He said the woman then alleged he made her touch his penis.

"I offered hallucination as a likely explanation for the complaint of sexual assault because the assault never occurred, so the patient must have imagined it," he said.

Under cross-examination, the dentist admitted there had been two more incidents, not part of charges before the tribunal, where patients had alleged something he considered to be a hallucination.

The dentist told the tribunal that the allegations relating to the 1984 incident were not true.

"I can be absolutely certain the allegation that I caused [her] right hand to come into close contact with my penis is not true. Whilst this did not happen at all, it is also not physically possible for this to have happened," he said.

He said he was "devastated" at the allegations relating to the 1989 incident. "Her suggestion she had her hand on my penis is quite wrong. That did not at any time happen. She must be imagining this," he said.

He said he did not believe the three women were "deliberately making up untruths". They genuinely believed something inappropriate happened.

The hearing continues today and is likely to end on Monday.