He is satisfied

Oh well, it’s just 48 women.

A former neurologist accused of sexually assaulting 48 of his female patients has been acquitted.

Justice Craig Parry ruled that he is satisfied there was a valid medical reason for examinations Jeffrey Sloka performed at his Kitchener clinic. The verdict comes nine years after the first complaints were made about the doctor to Ontario’s regulatory body, and following a four-and-a-half year criminal trial.

The complainants in the case were all female patients who were seen at Sloka’s urgent neurology clinic between 2010 and 2017. In court, they described receiving vaginal exams, breast exams or exams of other intimate areas during appointments for neurological concerns.

Sloka’s medical license was revoked in 2019 by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) after a no contest plea to the allegations laid out in a disciplinary hearing.

A no contest plea, but he didn’t do it. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Parry largely rejected the expert testimony of Dr. Vera Bril, who told court in her opinion, the exams Sloka did aren’t typically done by neurologists.

“Having considered Dr. Bril’s evidence in the context of the totality of the evidence, I have found it incapable of establishing that Dr. Sloka operated outside the permissible scope of his neurological practice,” Parry said.

As for the women who testified, Parry said he found their evidence unreliable.

Do we detect a pattern here? Male judge finds women unreliable? Male judge finds male doctor reliable? Surely it can’t possibly be that simple. Can it?