Sask. court rejects bid to take doctor back to trial on sexual assault charges
Warning: Some readers may find details in this story disturbing
A Regina doctor who faced accusations of misconduct will not be heading back to trial, after Saskatchewan's highest court rejected an appeal from the Crown.
Gastroenterologist Sylvester Ukabam went to trial in 2022 over seven counts of sexual assault stemming from incidents with five separate patients. The women said he vaginally penetrated them or performed breast exams without consent and with no explanation of the medical reasons for the procedures.
None of the accusers can be named due to a publication ban.
At trial, a medical expert testified there would be no reason for a gastroenterologist to examine a woman’s breasts or vagina in the course of their duties.
Ukabam testified he had no memory of the encounters and relied only on his notes from the examinations.
He was acquitted by Court of King’s Bench Justice Brian Scherman, which prompted a complaint against him by one of Ukabam’s accusers.
In his written decision, Scherman said the women were mistaken about what they felt — because they were under sedation or had memories altered after seeing initial complaints in the media.
“The overarching issue in respect of the complainant’s evidence is the reliability of their respective evidence,” he said. “There is, at minimum, a reasonable possibility that each of the complainants misinterpreted and/or do not reliably remember what occurred.”
In her June 2022 complaint against Scherman to the Canadian Judicial Council, one of the accusers said the judge’s decision reflected an underlying attitude of ignorance, misogyny and gender bias that was deeply unsettling.
The council's review of her complaint has been on hold pending the decision of the appeal court.
In the Saskatchewan appeal court decision released Friday, Justice Lian Schwann concluded that judge Scherman made some errors by omitting some Crown evidence, but she was not convinced it would have made a difference in the acquittal.
The Crown’s appeal was dismissed.
Ukabam gave up his medical licence in 2018 and opted not to try to return to the profession after the trial.
A civil case against Ukabam was put on hold in 2023 for medical reasons.
-With files from Canadian Press and Stefanie Davis
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6968454.1721308962!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'One screen, two movies': Conflicting conspiracy theories emerge from the Trump rally shooting
A former president is wounded in a shooting, the gunman quickly neutralized, and all of it is caught on camera. But for those who don't believe their eyes, that's just the start of the story.
6 bodies were found in a Bangkok hotel room with no signs of violence. Police think they know why
Should visitors to Thailand be concerned about their safety after six people were found dead in a locked hotel room in Bangkok?
BREAKING Two listeriosis deaths in Ontario linked to plant-based milk recall: MOH
Two deaths as a result of a listeriosis outbreak linked to a plant-based milk recall are in Ontario, provincial health officials confirmed Thursday.
More Americans are searching online about moving to Canada. But will they come here?
In the last few weeks, there has been a surge in the number of Americans searching online about moving to Canada and recent political events appear to have been a major catalyst.
RNC takeaways: Biden isn't the only older man keeping health details under wraps
Republicans welcomed JD Vance as Donald Trump's running mate on the same night devoted to blasting U.S. President Joe Biden's leadership on the world stage. Here are some takeaways from Day 3 of the RNC.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly to visit China after years-long rift
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is headed to China on Friday at the invitation of Beijing, after years of diplomatic strain following the 2018 detention of two Canadians.
Love at first sight? AI making it even harder to detect romance scams
As more people look to find love on dating apps and social media these days, so too are those looking to commit romance scams as artificial intelligence makes it harder to know what's real and what isn't.
Former safety minister wants 'protective zones' for MPs' offices as threats increase
Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino is calling for the creation of 'protective zones' around political constituency offices to shield members of Parliament and their staff from a rising tide of threatening behaviour.
American who made social media threats against Taylor Swift detained ahead of German concert
An American man who made threats against Taylor Swift on social media was detained ahead of her first concert in the German city of Gelsenkirchen and will be kept in custody until her shows there are over, police said Thursday.