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Doc guilty on 26 sex charges
12/10/2006 12:08 - (SA)
Wellington - A New Zealand doctor was found guilty on Thursday on 26 charges of indecently assaulting 12 female patients, aged 12 to 50, over a period of 21 years.
After deliberating for three days following a five-week trial, a jury acquitted Hiran Fernando on 11 other charges, including the three most serious counts of sexual violation, Radio New Zealand reported.
The women complained that the doctor had abused them during intimate examinations at his sole charge surgery in the North Island port city of New Plymouth between 1981 and 2002.
They gave evidence that Fernando made them remove all their clothes in the absence of a nurse, caressed their breasts and conducted other examinations in a sexual manner.
He told the court he had legitimate reasons for the examinations and the patients misunderstood his actions.
Fernando was remanded on bail for sentence next month.
Sapa-dpa
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