Doctor gives up licence amid sex allegations
Author: Tim Shufelt, Ottawa Citizen
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Faced with accusations of sexual impropriety, a former
Ottawa child and youth psychiatrist has promised never
again to practise medicine in Canada. Details of the
allegations, which he denies, may never come to light.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario said
it plans to drop disciplinary proceedings against Dr.
Gonzalo Araujo in a hearing scheduled today at the college's
office in Toronto.
Dr. Araujo, a psychiatrist at the Children's Hospital
of Eastern Ontario from 1983 to 1994, during which time
he is alleged to have had a sexual relationship with
a patient, signed an undertaking to the college last
month forfeiting his licence for life.
"I ... do not admit any of the allegations and
deny all of the allegations," says the undertaking
signed by Dr. Araujo.
Attempts to reach Dr. Araujo over the phone and through
the law firm representing him were unsuccessful.
In exchange for Dr. Araujo's signed undertaking, the
college has agreed to withdraw the allegations, and
will keep information about the complaint confidential,
said Kathryn Clarke, the college's spokeswoman. She
said the summary of allegations against Dr. Araujo contain
no indication of criminality.
Ms. Clarke said these undertakings are not uncommon.
They are generally accepted by the college when the
restriction on the doctor "is so significant that
it completely eliminates the risk to the public,"
she said.
In Dr. Araujo's case, his self-imposed penalties exceed
the maximum the college can hand out in disciplinary
hearings.
The tradeoff, however, is a loss of transparency and
accountability.
"What you're not getting is a finding of professional
misconduct," Ms. Clarke said. Nor an admission
of guilt, she added. "You have to weigh, in the
facts of the case, whether that's important. If you
have guaranteed public safety, that obviously is a key
factor."
According to an Ottawa victims' rights advocate, those
things are important.
"It's very hard on the victims when the guys just
resign and aren't held accountable," said Ann Van
Regan, who works with the Therapy Exploitation Link
Line, a Boston-based organization that helps victims
of sexual exploitation by health professionals.
"They're shocked, of course, and they often feel
not heard."
Dr. Philip Klassen, a psychiatrist at the Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, said some victims
are driven by a sense of justice and embrace the opportunity
to testify. Others, however, welcome a quick and quiet
end to the process.
"We've all interviewed victims that really just
dread the notion of testifying. People experience an
increase in symptoms and dysfunction because of anxiety
around testifying, and experience a profound sense of
relief at not having to testify," Dr. Klassen said.
He likened the college's acceptance of undertakings
to settlements in civil suits and plea bargains in criminal
courts.
Dr. Klassen said there's one important difference:
Undertakings often do not include any admission of guilt,
so the document cannot necessarily be used as the basis
to sue a doctor.
According to committee documents, Dr. Araujo is accused
of having a "romantic and sexual relationship"
with an unnamed patient from early 1984 to around September
1988.
He left the hospital in 1994 to set up his own practice.
CHEO treats patients under 18.
The charge of "sexual impropriety" comes
from the provincial legislation of the day; that legislation
has since been replaced by the Regulated Health Professions
Act.
Under the old law, sexual impropriety was punishable
by revoking a doctor's licence for up to one year, after
which the doctor would be able to reapply.
Much has changed in the last 15 years, including the
role played by the college in addressing alleged sexual
abuse by its members, said Dr. Harvey Armstrong, a child
and adolescent psychiatrist in Toronto who has co-written
reports on sexual abuse in the medical profession for
the provincial government.
"Now, the college is more receptive to those kinds
of complaints," he said. "They're much more
supportive."
The self-regulating authority, which has granted licences
to more than 27,000 doctors in Ontario, investigated
42 sex-related complaints in 2006.
Dr. Armstrong believes "the college is probably
catching a small percentage of abusers."
© Ottawa Citizen 2008
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