Former Regina doctor responds to sexual assault allegations

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DISCLAIMER: The coverage of this lawsuit contains details of the sexual assault allegations.

Sylvester Ukabam, a former doctor accused of sexually assaulting five patients, responded to the fifth and final plaintiff’s allegations in the witness box on Thursday morning.

Ukabam practiced as a gastroenterology specialist in Regina before relinquishing his medical license in 2018. He has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of sexual assault brought against him by five former patients, who accused him of inappropriate acts during physical examinations from 2010 to 2018. .

Defense attorney Aaron Fox questioned Ukabam about the fifth plaintiff in the sexual assault trial. Ukabam responded to other complaints throughout the week.

Last week, the fifth patient claimed that Ukabam positioned her on her hands and knees during a physical examination. She said he touched her vaginal area for about 10 seconds, then put a lubricated gloved finger inside her vagina for about 30 seconds.

She also alleged that he asked to hug her after the exam, which she agreed to because she felt shocked and scared.

From the stand, Ukabam said the fifth plaintiff was one of the first patients he saw when he moved to Regina.

The defense reviewed several physical and rectal exams that Ukabam had performed on the patient in the years leading up to the appointment when the alleged assault occurred, in 2014.

Fox asked Ukabam if he remembered a student or intern helping him in the office that day. Ukabam said he did not remember, but his records confirmed that a student was present that day.

The patient testified that she agreed to have the student attend her appointment, but testified that the student did not enter the room for her physical examination.

“I do not allow students to enter the examination hall for intimate medical examinations,” Ukabam said. “If the patient asks for a chaperone, I would ask the medical assistant to be the chaperone.”

He said he remembered parts of the date.

“I remember we discussed his symptoms. I remember we discussed some stressors again. I remember a conversation we talked about in the office when we were discussing what was going on in his life,” Ukabam said.

He said during the appointment, his complaints were about pain running from his mouth to his anus. This prompted him to perform a physical and rectal examination. He said he did not remember taking the exam.

Fox asked Ukabam about the patient’s allegation that Ukabam asked her to position herself on her hands and knees.

“It was totally weird. I’ve never done anything like this in all my years of practice,” Ukabam said.

Fox then asked if he had inserted a gloved, lubricated finger into her vagina.

“Never, and not on just any patient,” Ukabam replied.

The defense asked him if he would have moved his finger inside her vagina and said “I can smell your stomach”.

“I would never do that, no,” Ukabam said.

The patient alleged that Ukabam told her she looked sad after the appointment and asked if he could give her a hug.

Ukabam said they often talked about her depression and he often asked why she looked sad.

He said he would very rarely give a patient a hug or ask to hug a patient. He said he didn’t remember asking for a hug.

“It’s not impossible,” he said, when Fox asked if it could have happened. “It’s possible, but it would be very unusual.”

Ukabam said the patient did not express any concerns to him during or directly after the appointment.

He says he learned of her complaint a few months after the appointment.

“I was very shocked, especially for someone I had been seeing for so long,” Ukabam said.

Ukabam said that over the years of seeing the patient, she confided in him about certain stressors in her life.

Fox read Ukabam’s medical notes on the patient about her depression. One of her notes said “she looked sad”. Ukabam said he noted his depression as it could affect his stomach issues.

As with the other plaintiffs, Fox asked Ukabam about the medications he had been prescribed over the years.

To wrap up his questioning, Fox asked Ukabam about his resignation in December 2018.

He said once word of a hearing was posted on the College of Physicians and Surgeons website and picked up by the media, he made the decision to resign.

“I just felt stressed and planned to retire in a year from that date,” Ukabam said. “As these things were starting to impact my work, I thought it best to retire a year before my planned retirement.”

More soon…

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