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3| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,S eptem ber 13,2018 theifp.ca WARNING: Graphic details follow. A Georgetown doctor sexually abused 11 female patients by showing them naked pictures of himself, a discipline body ruled this week. Dr. Nigel Mark Phipps had admitted from the out- set of his discipline hearing last year at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) that he had shown the patients naked and seminaked selfies on his cellphone and that this constituted professional misconduct. He denied, however, that it was sexual abuse. A five- member panel of the col- lege's discipline committee has ruled otherwise. Aside from the findings about the photos them- selves, the discipline com- mittee also found Phipps' behaviour to be sexual in nature and that he had an erection during two pa- tients' visits. One of the pa- tients was touched by the doctor's erection through his clothing, the committee found. "Physicians must estab- lish and maintain appropri- ate professional boundar- ies with patients or the pro- fessional relationship is jeopardized and patients are at risk of great harm," the committee wrote in its 85-page decision. "Violations of such boundaries, particularly of a sexual nature, can engen- der in patients a loss of trust in the physician and in the health professions and feel- ings of betrayal, victimiza- tion, anger, shame and guilt." Phipps' lawyer, Jenny Stephenson, declined the Toronto Star's request for comment. The photos Phipps ad- mitted to showing are as fol- lows: one where Phipps is naked with his penis visi- ble, one of Phipps' naked buttocks, one where he's naked from the groin up but where the genitals are not visible, and a fourth show- ing him naked with a towel over his arm. The first three were filed as exhibits at the discipline hearing, while Phipps admitted to deleting the fourth from his cellphone. (The committee found that Phipps showed addi- tional naked photographs to five of the patients, which he denied.) "I thought they would think what I thought . . . I thought it was humorous, innocuous," the 57-year-old doctor testified in his own defence last year regarding most of the encounters. He said he wanted to share with patients what he thought was a "funny" story of a stranger accidentally seeing one of the naked sel- fies several years ago. "Through counselling, I re- alize people don't think what you think," he said. A number of patients testified they felt embar- rassed, violated, and con- fused when their doctor showed them the photos in the examination room. "A strong yuck factor," was how one patient put it in an agreed statement of facts filed at the hearing. "Dr. Phipps asserted consistently that his inten- tion was to relate a story that was humorous and mutually embarrassing, and with which everyone 'would be fine,'" the panel wrote in its decision. "The committee, however, could not understand why Dr. Phipps would find showing a naked photo of himself to his patients humorous or why he would want to em- barrass his patients." The discipline commit- tee concluded the photos were sexual in nature, giv- en that two of them showed Phipps' genitalia, one of which shows a "partial erection," and that they were meant to be shared with his wife. His behaviour was also found to be sexual in na- ture, as Phipps himself ac- knowledged making com- ments to several patients such as "I've seen yours, now you've seen mine" or "I've seen you naked, now you've seen me naked." Phipps had also admit- ted to professional miscon- duct for showing the photo of himself naked from the waist up to three staff mem- bers on the same day - an admission the discipline committee accepted. A penalty hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Phipps retains an active li- cence to practise, but since 2015 has been barred from practising on women un- less in the presence of a health care professional. NEWS GEORGETOWN DOCTOR WHO SHOWED OFF NAKED SELFIES GUILTY OF SEX ABUSE JACQUES GALLANT jgallant@thestar.ca Dr. Nigel Mark Phipps had denied committing sexual abuse though he admitted from the outset his actions constituted professional misconduct. Bernard Weil/Toronto Star SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA NALP ECNANETNIAM EVITATNEVERP RUO HTIW SRIAPER LLA NO %02 EVAS