discipline summaries
videos and images of women other than Patient A that were obtained from Dr. Dobrowolski’ s computer devices.
Criminal Conviction of Dr. Dobrowolski After allegations against Dr. Dobrowolski were referred to discipline, Dr. Dobrowolski was arrested in November 2012, and charged with sexual assault of Patient A. On May 14, 2014, Dr. Dobrowolski was found guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice of the following offences relevant to his suitability to practise:
( i) having sexually assaulted 16 persons, contrary to section 271, subsection( 1) of the Criminal Code of Canada(“ sexual assault”);
( ii) having without lawful excuse disobeyed a lawful Order by conducting physical examinations on 12 persons, contrary to section 127, subsection( 1) of the Criminal Code of Canada(“ breach of a court order”); and
( iii) having without lawful excuse, surreptitiously made visual recordings of nine persons, who were in circumstances that gave rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy when those persons were in a place in which they could reasonably be expected to be nude, to be exposing their genital organs or anal region or exposing their breasts or be engaged in explicit sexual activity, namely Dr. Dobrowolski’ s office, and thereby having committed an offence under section 162, subsection( 1), clause( a) of the Criminal Code, contrary to section 162, subsection( 5) of the Criminal Code of Canada(“ voyeurism”).
In total, the criminal findings related to Dr. Dobrowolski’ s conduct towards 22 female patients, including Patient A. The Discipline Committee had before it and considered the Agreed Statement of Facts that was filed in the criminal proceedings, which provided the factual underpinnings for the criminal court conviction. It detailed Dr. Dobrowolski’ s conduct towards the female patients in question, which included purporting to perform physical, gynecological and dermatological examinations that had no legitimate connection to any psychiatric care being provided by Dr. Dobrowolski to his victims. Dr. Dobrowolski unlawfully violated the sexual integrity of each of the victims of sexual assault, and was found to have made surreptitious visual recordings of nine patients without their consent.
Misconduct towards Other Patients The College’ s and police investigative processes led to the discovery of misconduct by Dr. Dobrowolski towards other patients who were not the subject of his criminal conviction:
( i) Regarding Patient B, when College investigators attended at Dr. Dobrowolski’ s office in October 2012 to serve him with notice of his suspension and of the new investigation, she was present at his office. Investigators identified her as the subject of one of the videos recovered in the forensic analysis. The video shows Dr. Dobrowolski placing a concealed video camera in the area of his desk before Patient B enters the room. It then shows Dr. Dobrowolski touching Patient B’ s breasts and vaginal area, including inserting his fingers into her vagina. College investigators advised Patient B of the video that the College had discovered. They learned from her that on numerous occasions during medical appointments Dr. Dobrowolski had conducted what Patient B believed at the time to be physical examinations on her, consisting of Dr. Dobrowolski touching her breasts and her genitals, including inside her vagina. Dr. Dobrowolski had videotaped Patient B without her knowledge, while touching her breasts and her genitals for his own sexual purposes.
( ii) Regarding Patient C, in approximately 2011 or 2012, Dr. Dobrowolski purported to examine a mole at a medical appointment. She removed her top but not her bra for the examination. In doing so, Dr. Dobrowolski breached the terms, conditions or limitations on his certificate of registration and the Divisional Court Order prohibiting him from conducting physical examinations, and engaged in inappropriate touching of a sexual nature.
( iii) Regarding Patient D, she was Dr. Dobrowolski’ s patient intermittently between 2000 and
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Dialogue Issue 4, 2016