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French doctor handed 10-year jail term for abusing patients / Photo: © AFP/File
French doctor handed 10-year jail term for abusing patients
A French court sentenced a doctor to a 10-year prison term on Saturday for raping nine of his patients during medical consultations, according to a lawyer representing some of the victims.
Thirty women filed complaints against the gynaecologist, in his 60s, accusing him of sexual assault during medical exams.
The Haute-Savoie Court in eastern France found him guilty on Saturday of raping nine of the plaintiffs, said lawyer, Aurelie Zakar.
Four of the plaintiffs accused the gynaecologist of penetration with his genitals, while others complained of unjustified rectal exams and "vaginal massages" that they said the doctor presented as medically necessary.
"The penetration suffered during consultations was not medical in nature and was, in fact, sexualised," said Zakar.
"My three clients have been recognised as victims, they have been heard and believed. They can now rebuild their lives," she said.
The doctor, from the eastern town of Bonneville, has denied all allegations.
The debate was particularly "heated on the notion of intent", said a lawyer for three other plaintiffs, including two women who were minors at the time.
The defendant presented the acts "as justified or never having happened," said Patricia Lyonnaz, adding that all the victims came to testify at the trial.
"These are not women seeking revenge," said Lyonnaz.
The defendant has 10 days to appeal.
G. Lopes--JDB
