Doctor Argues He Was Too Obese to Sexually Assault Patients, Discipline Committee Disagrees

Imagine being a doctor and using a legal argument that is essentially, "I couldn't have sexually abused my patients because of my huge gut."

Well, as first reported in the Toronto Star , this is what Dr. Rodion Kunynetz, a Barrie dermatologist, used when going before the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons discipline committee earlier this year.

The doctor was found guilty of professional misconduct for touching a woman's breast under her bra and having patients remove clothing without proper reason. Kunynetz was also accused of rubbing his penis against the thighs and legs of four of his patients when treating them—these allegations are what the committee spent most of it's time focused upon.

The doctor was suspended from practicing in October of 2015 and is facing 11 criminal charges charges which are still in the early stages. The College of Physicians and Surgeons conducted a 38-day investigation into Kunynetz's actions last year and made their 47-page decision public this week.

The committee's report outlined Kunynetz's defence:

"With respect to the genital touching, Dr. Kunynetz maintained that it was impossible for his genitalia to come into contact with the legs of the patients because of the presence of a panniculus (a fold of adipose tissue which extends downwards from the lower abdomen covering all or part of the genitalia) and because of his overall obesity."

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One woman said that from her vantage point she could see that Kunynetz was semi-erect and gyrated into her thigh, she testified "it was very forceful and could not have been accidental." Several other former patients testified that Kunynetz acted in a similar manner with them and other witnesses with similar allegations, although not necessarily against Kunynetz, testified as well.

"I'm a woman of almost 70 years," testified one of them, when asked if she thought it was penis pressed into her. "I know what a penis is and what it feels like. I have no doubt at all that it was a penis."

Kunynetz denies all of the allegations and his lawyer said they are reviewing the decision.

So, with these allegations in mind, the doctors decided to test it Kunynetz's claims—once by the defence and another by the committee.

In order to do so, the committee pumped a concoction of love drugs into Kunynetz to get give him a chemically induced hard-on. Then they stripped him down to his underwear and had him conduct a similar examination on some members of the committee. The first doctor who had the simulated examine on him felt only gut but the second one, Dr. Gerald Brock, confirmed that he felt Kunynetz's penis rubbed against him.

"After an erection had been achieved, Dr. Brock was able to observe three inches of penile shaft. He described the erection as being 70 percent complete, rather less than had been achieved after the injection by Dr. Radomski," reads the report.

"When Dr. Brock sat on the examination table, he was able to feel Dr. Kunynetz's penis when Dr. Kunynetz was standing and moving forward towards him."

The committee concluded that the "impossibility" of Kunynetz's argument was not valid and was found guilty of professional misconduct and sexual abuse. The committee is in the process of scheduling a penalty hearing for Dr. Kunynetz and the doctor's lawyer said that they will be reviewing the committee's decision.

Even if the committee reverses on the decision of Kunynetz's behaviour, they concluded that misconduct occurred and "remain concerned" that of the contact between the doctor and the patient.

"The Committee was of the view that a reasonable physician would make every attempt to ensure that this did not occur, and that failure to make such attempts or to apologize if it occurred accidentally, or incidentally, represented an unacceptable level of insensitivity on the part of Dr. Kunynetz, without care or concern for the patients."

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