Winnipeg doctor convicted of sexually assaulting female patient

A Winnipeg doctor has been convicted of sexually assaulting a patient over a period of more than two years.

Dr. Ramon Eduardo Jovel was convicted of sexual assault in Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench on Wednesday after a woman said he "groomed" her for three years with unnecessary and sexual exams between 1991 and 1994.

In her written decision, Justice Karen Simonsen said that although the incidents happened more than 20 years ago the woman was credible and "extremely compelling in her description of the events."

The woman cannot be identified because of a publication ban.

In 1991, the woman was 18 years old and her family had just arrived in the city as refugees, according to Simonsen's decision. She didn't speak English well and was looking for a Spanish-speaking physician.

She went for her first appointment with Jovel in 1991 and remained his patient until 1994. In that time the doctor switched practices three times.

Doctor touched woman inappropriately

The woman had a menstruation issue and was told by Jovel that she'd have to see him every month "to get her fluids checked," the decision said.

Every time she went to the appointment the exam was essentially the same — no one else was present and Jovel would ask the woman to undress, the decision said.

The doctor then would conduct an exam by stimulating the woman's clitoris and feel around her vaginal area to "collect fluid" to make sure she was ovulating, the decision said. The doctor also asked the woman how it felt during the process.

The touching during physical exams progressed, the decision said, and the doctor started saying he needed to touch the woman's breasts, too.

After the exam, the doctor would collect fluid from the woman's vagina on his finger and "would show it to her, stretched between his fingers," the decision said.

During the woman's last appointment with the doctor, she said Jovel started to examine her like he had done before. Then he said that he had fallen for her and he knew that she felt the same, the decision said.

The woman said the doctor unzipped his pants and started rubbing himself on her hip.

"She felt taken advantage of and confused and was afraid that he was going to rape or hurt her," the decision said.

The woman got up from the examination table and went to a bathroom in the clinic. She said the doctor followed her and kept groping her until she was able to get dressed and leave the clinic, the decision said.

Reports to College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2010

When she switched to a female physician after the encounter she learned that the exams "to see if she was ovulating," which Jovel had been doing, weren't necessary, the decision said.

The woman told a friend and her mother about the incident in 1994 but she didn't go to police because she didn't think she would be believed. She came from a country where the justice system wasn't trustworthy and hadn't yet developed faith in Canada's.

She ended up moving away from Canada in 2000 and stayed in another country for 10 years, where she was married and had children. During that time, specifically seeing doctors during her pregnancies, the woman learned that none of Jovel's exams were necessary, the decision said.

In 2010, her family moved back to Winnipeg and upon her return, the woman filed a complaint against Jovel to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba in November 2010.

She was interviewed by the college in 2014 and testified at a hearing.

Simonsen's written decision said the woman was dissatisfied with the college's decision and didn't feel there had been justice, so she reported it to Winnipeg police in November 2014.

Simonsen's decision said Jovel confirmed a lot of the woman's testimony about how they met and her being a patient, but denied touching her in the way she described or any inappropriate comments.

In the woman's view, Jovel groomed her for three years and she wants anyone else who has experienced something to "know they are not alone," the decision said.   

In an email to CBC News, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba registrar Dr. Anna Ziomek said Jovel was suspended from practicing medicine on Wednesday.

"I have read the findings of the court and am very sorry for the complainant's suffering," she said.

Jovel will be sentenced on May 10.