Kentville police charge chiropractor with sexual assault

A Kentville, N.S., chiropractor has been charged with sexually assaulting a patient during an appointment.

Dr. Philip LaPierre, 72, was arrested and charged on Sept. 20. Police said they began investigating in June an incident that happened at The Pain Resolution Centre in Kentville.

It's not clear from the police news release when the alleged assault took place. No one from the Kentville Police Service was available for followup questions on Tuesday.

LaPierre was released from custody and will appear in Kentville provincial court on Oct. 30.

The Nova Scotia College of Chiropractors does not list LaPierre as an active licensed chiropractor.

Executive director John Sutherland said the college found out about the police investigation in late July. He said LaPierre took a voluntary undertaking in August not to practise or have any communication with patients, at which point his name was removed from the college's list of members. 

Sutherland said the college will conduct its own investigation after the criminal process has finished.  

He said the regulatory body previously held disciplinary hearings in 2007 and 2008 that resulted in a five-year restriction being placed on LaPierre. 

This is the third time LaPierre has been charged with sexual assault.

According to reporting from The Chronicle Herald, he was charged in 2007 after a female patient accused him of touching her inappropriately during an assessment.

The Chronicle Herald also reported in 2008 that LaPierre was charged a second time after a patient accused him of sexually assaulting her.

Sutherland told CBC News both of those charges were dismissed.