Indo-Canadian Doctors Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Woman Found Not Guilty

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TORONTO —Two Indo-Canadian Doctors from  accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a medical student in 2011 have been found not guilty.

Dr. Amitabh Chauhan and Dr. Suganthan Kayilasanathan were accused of drugging and then sexually assaulting the woman in a hotel room after a night of drinking and dancing at a Toronto club, reported Canadian Press.

Justice Julie Thorburn said while it was agreed that the two doctors had a “sexual encounter” with the woman, she was not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the woman was drugged and did not consent to the encounter.

“I know this has been a long and emotional journey for all of you,” Thorburn said as she delivered her lengthy judgement on Thursday. “I do recognize how difficult this may be for some of you in this room.”

In her lengthy decision, Thorburn took care to acknowledge the “difficult task” sexual assault complainants face, balanced with the rights of the accused.

“(Complainants) must present themselves in a public forum and describe, in excruciating detail, aspects of their personal lives that are often intimate, embarrassing and painful . . . their credibility and the reliability of their testimony may be vigorously challenged,” she wrote. Meanwhile “both accused face serious criminal charges, and if they are found guilty they will in all likelihood go to jail. They will wear the stigma of being convicted of very serious crimes for the rest of their lives.”

Both Chauhan and Kayilasanathan told reporters outside court that they looked forward to moving on with their lives.

Meanwhile, Crown prosecutor Cara Sweeny said the complainant, who cannot be identified, was “very disappointed” with the judge’s decision.

Sweeny said that while drug-facilitated sexual assault cases are “doubly hard” to prosecute, she hopes that women will not be discouraged from coming forward, reported the Toronto Star.

“And eventually, if more and more women come forward, the overwhelming tide of awareness will change the way that judges see this kind of offence.”

Nneka MacGregor, the executive director of gender-based violence advocacy group Women at the Centre, agrees.

“If we don’t come forward nothing will change,” she said, after noting that women face a number of barriers in reporting sexual assaults, from stigma to fear of being re-victimized, disbelieved and having her credibility fiercely challenged. “By forcing the system to face the atrocities against women, we raise awareness, we start conversations. And through those conversations people’s minds are changed.”

Judge Thorburn said she found no evidence to support the Crown’s assertion that the two doctors planned to drug and sexually assault the medical student on Feb. 13, 2011.

She also said that the woman and the two doctors “willingly consumed a considerable amount of alcohol that evening and early the next morning” and that there was no evidence to corroborate the woman’s testimony that she was drugged or sexually assaulted.

Chauhan had also been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting another woman in 2003 whom he had a relationship with years earlier. He was found not guilty on those charges as well.