A former St. Albert pediatrician accused of sexual assault and sexual interference of a minor will be allowed to continue to see patients.
The Court of Queen’s Bench halted a previous decision by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta that suspended Dr. Ramneek Kumar's practice permit and has allowed him to continue to see minor patients in the presence of a chaperone.
In a written decision released on July 9, Calgary Justice Kristine Eidsvik said that the College of Physicians decision to suspend Kumar's licence was too harsh.
"The regulatory body should be imposing the least restrictive means to protect the public interest in interim situations and unproven allegations," Eidsvik said.
Kumar was working as a pediatrician at St. Albert's Rivercrest Medical Clinic when he was arrested in March and charged with two counts of sexual interference and sexual assault of a minor. The charges against Kumar stem from an incident at the Waterton Lakes National Park in August 2015 allegedly involving an eight-year-old girl, who was not his patient. The pediatrician is facing two counts of sexual contact with a child and one count of sexual assault. A Pincher Creek judge released Kumar on bail in April. One condition of his release is that he is not allowed to be alone in the presence of anyone under the age of 16.
The clinic said in a release in April that Kumar had not been working at the clinic since March 20. He tendered his resignation on April 2, and after leaving the St. Albert clinic, Kumar took a new job in Calgary, but had his licence suspended by the regulatory college less than a week after he started.
Eidsvik ruled that without a licence to practise while he awaits trial, Kumar would suffer loss of income and lose "the working relationships that he had spent years developing."
In an affidavit, Kumar stated that he would lose around $40,000 a month from clinic fees and the chaperone charges he has agreed to pay for the next three months, totalling $6,480. At his new clinic in Calgary Kumar expected to see between 100 to 125 patients a week.
In the ruling Eidsvik said she balanced the public safety concern and noted that with a chaperone in the room, along with the child’s guardian, there would be two adults in the room while examining a young patient.
Eidsvik said the court has not yet seen the evidence that will be going to trial.
“We have a vehement denial, evidence that there may be improper motives involved in the complaint, and the matter has not even progressed to a preliminary hearing stage which would have reviewed whether there was enough evidence to proceed to trial,” the decision read.
Kumar's trial is set for Oct. 17 in provincial court.
