Crown suggests medical exams done for sexual purpose in doctor's sex assault trial

WARNING: Some of the details in this article are graphic

Crown prosecutors questioned a Manitoba doctor accused of sexual assault, suggesting he was aroused while conducting an exam on a female patient – one of many exams they allege were done for his own sexual gratification.

Dr. Arcel Bissonnette returned to the witness stand Friday in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench. The 63-year-old doctor is standing trial on six counts of sexual assault – one of which has been stayed.

Six other charges of sexual assault against the Ste. Anne doctor were stayed earlier this year.

The Crown previously called five women to testify in the trial, all of whom were patients of Bissonnette’s at the Seine Medical Centre in Ste. Anne or the Ste. Anne Hospital.

The Crown alleges all five women were sexually assaulted by the doctor.

In her cross-examination Friday, Crown prosecutor Renee Lagimodiere suggested Bissonnette conducted certain exams on these women for sexual gratification – something the doctor denied multiple times.

Lagimodiere questioned Bissonnette about a specific bimanual exam he conducted on one of the women in February 2015, which involved inserting his fingers in the woman’s vagina.

“I’m going to suggest that you were not doing the exam with fingers in her vagina for a medical purpose at all,” Lagimodiere said.

“Yes, I was,” Bissonnette responded, saying this patient had a family history of ovarian cancer. “It was extremely important to do that exam for her. Anything less is just negligence.”

In her cross-examination, Lagimodiere suggested one two occasions while doing these exams the doctor was aroused and had an erection.

“You had an erection because the exam was for a sexual purpose,” she said.

Bissonnette denied that he had an erection and said he felt the exams were medically needed.

"I've been doing this for 30 years and I don't find anything arousing in these exams," he said.

CROWN QUESTIONS DOCTOR ABOUT POWER IMBALANCE WITH PATIENTS, OBTAINING CONSENT

Lagimodiere also questioned the doctor about the power imbalance between a physician and a patient.

“Dr. Bissonnette, you’ve heard of the expression, ‘knowledge is power,’ haven’t you?” Lagimodiere asked.

“Yes,” the doctor responded. He agreed there is a power imbalance when it comes to a physician-patient relationship because of the training and special knowledge that the patient doesn’t have.

The doctor was also questioned about the practice of having patients disrobe, which Lagimodiere suggested some patients may not feel comfortable doing.

“When one person in the room has clothes on and the other one doesn’t, the person who isn’t wearing clothes is in a more vulnerable position,” she asked.

“In a sense, yes,” he said.

She suggested the drapes provided by Bissonnette – a paper sheet for the patient to cover themselves during these exams – was inadequate and could not possibly cover their body.

He denied this.

"Other doctors used the same drapes, so I'm not the only one. So if you are implying that I'm just using that for sexual gratification, you are wrong because the other doctors use them too," Bissonnette responded.

She went on to question the doctor about obtaining consent, which she suggested was an important part of any medical act - to which the doctor agreed.

However, Lagimodiere suggested Bissonnette was silent while conducting these exams. Bissonnette responded by saying his usual practice is to have dialogue with his patients – either at the beginning of the exam or during it.

Lagimodiere also highlighted concerns over the doctor's medical notes. She pointed to the medical records of several of the women who testified in the trial, saying another doctor would not know Bissonnette performed certain exams on these women based on the medical records.

Bissonnette agreed.

She also pointed to at least one mistake in the medical records for one of the women who testified in the trial, which Bissonnette said was because he forgot to remove pre-written notes that were part of the template in the medical records.

"I'm going to suggest that your lack of information was because you were doing these exams for sexual gratification," she said.

"Well, that's wrong. I disagree," Bissonnette responded.

His defence is expected to call more witnesses in the case next week. The trial continues.

Bissonnette is also facing 10 other charges of sexual assault, which are scheduled to go to trial in February 2024.

Bissonnette has pleaded not guilty and is considered innocent.