Doctor Sébastien Paquin, who was accused of 12 charges of a sexual nature on Wednesday, has been suspended from Quebec University Hospital. Just under two weeks ago, the 40-year-old saw the Court of Appeal overturn a verdict in his case over inappropriate comments towards a patient, an incident that occurred in 2017.
The management of the Quebec University Hospital confirms that the doctor who practiced at the Saint-François d’Assise hospital was relieved of his duties on Thursday.
“As of this morning, Dr. Paquin is no longer on the agenda and the necessary administrative procedures are in progress,” explains Michèle Schaffner-Junius, spokeswoman for the CHU.
As the case is pending in court, management will have no further comment.
Sébastien Paquin appeared on Wednesday to answer 12 charges of sexual harassment of minors. Five charges were laid for providing sexually explicit material to a child, five more for enticement and one for indecent behavior. A final charge of obtaining sexual services from a person under 18 was also made.
The charges are against five victims, all of whom were 16 years old at the time of the incident.
“Three trip” suggested
Sébastien Paquin had already been excluded from the medical association for a year in March 2018 because he had made sexual advances towards a patient.
He had suggested “a threesome” to the 19-year-old patient who came to the consultation because of stomach pain.
The doctor found him on Facebook and the inappropriate discussions began via the messenger application.
From the September 13th decision of the Court of Appeal we learn that Dr. Paquin presented a report from a psychiatrist at the sanction hearing. He had confirmed that the doctor’s risk of relapse was “low”.
“ [Le] The psychiatrist claims to have found no evidence or risk associated with sexual deviance in the complainant [Paquin]. »
The appeal was upheld two weeks ago
The defendant appealed the verdict, with the professional court confirming the original decision of a one-year ban. Afterwards Dr. Paquin took the case to the appeals court, which finally ruled in his favor almost two weeks ago.
This is because the removal originally provided for in the professional code at the time of the events was of a temporary nature and was determined through analysis of case law. Paquin’s lawyer had argued for a two-month ban.
However, the code was changed in June 2017 and the minimum radiation is now set at 5 years, a period that can be shortened “if the professional is convinced”. [le conseil] that the period is not specified.
Because of these changes, the board retroactively sentenced Paquin to a one-year suspension. The doctor objected to this reaction.
The file was again sent to the College of Physicians Disciplinary Board for analysis, but pending the hearing, Dr. Paquin in even bigger trouble. The doctor will be back in criminal court on November 30th.