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Dentist on trial for patient sex abuse

Lyssandra Sears
Lyssandra Sears - [email protected]
Dentist on trial for patient sex abuse

A dentist may receive a prison sentence and the suspension of his practice for sexually assaulting patients at his practice in Vevey, on Lake Geneva.

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The dentist, a man in his forties, went before the court in Vevey on Monday accused of indecent exposure and performing sexual acts on patients as they sat waiting for treatment in the dentist’s chair, newspaper Tribune de Genève reported.

“They did not react. I thought that they consented,” the man said.

Two women have so far come forward. The first assault is alleged to have taken place in December 2009.

“She seemed relaxed,” the dentist said. “She smiled. I felt that a current passed between us. She had a beautiful neckline and a nice chest.”

The dentist then slowly reached down and placed his hand under the frozen woman’s shirt.

“I did that three of four times, always going a little further. I stopped when I reached the tip of her breasts.”

The woman said she was so shocked by the dentist’s advances that she was unable to react until she reached the safety of her own home.

Less than two weeks later, the dentist was at again. This time, his patient sat with her eyes closed waiting for treatment to start.

The dentist leaned over and brushed his chest against her bosom.

“She did not show any signs of disagreement, so I decided to go further,” the dentist said.

He opened the zipper on his trousers, pulled his member out and grabbed the woman’s head to force her to look at it. Screaming, the woman fled.

“It’s not true when she says that I masturbated,” the dentist protested.

These are not the first complaints that the dentist has had to deal with. In 2004, he was also fined for indecent use of his suction pipe on what he described as a “very sexy woman” wearing a mini-skirt.

The dentist has admitted to forging relationships with other consenting patients in the past. It is highly likely that the man will repeat these offences, a psychiatrist warned.

“He used his practising position to take advantage of people who were petrified in his treatment chair with no power of resistance. For two cases who dared to complain, one wonders how many others have not come to light,” the public prosecutor said.

The prosecution is seeking a one-year prison sentence, with six months suspended, and a five-year ban from dental practice. The verdict will be delivered on Tuesday.

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