Winnipeg doctor sentenced to 2.5 years for 'abhorrent' sexual assault against patient

A Winnipeg doctor convicted of sexually assaulting a young female patient more than 20 years ago has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Dr. Ramon Eduardo Jovel, 67, was convicted of sexual assault in February after a woman said he "groomed" her for three years with unnecessary and sexual exams between 1991 and 1994.

The victim, who can't be named because of a publication ban, was 18 years old and had just arrived in Canada as a refugee from a Spanish-speaking country when she started seeing Jovel for menstruation issues.

During her visits to Jovel's office the victim was asked to undress and the doctor would stimulate the woman's clitoris before feeling around her vaginal area, saying he needed to "collect fluid" to make sure she was ovulating, court had previously heard.

The conduct here was abhorrent, involved an egregious breach of trust and had a profound effect on the complainant.- Justice Karen Simonsen

The touching during physical exams progressed and the doctor started saying he needed to touch the woman's breasts as well.

During her last appointment, the doctor unzipped his pants and started rubbing his erect penis on her hip.

The Crown had argued the repeated assaults fit the criteria of major sexual assaults and asked for a sentence of four to five years, while the defence had asked for a two-year sentence.

In her sentencing, Justice Karen Simonsen said Jovel had breached a position of trust.

"Regardless of whether characterized as major sexual assault, the conduct here was abhorrent, involved an egregious breach of trust and had a profound effect on the complainant," she said.

"A message must be sent that such conduct will not be tolerated."

Simonsen said Jovel's health — he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes — and the fact he has no previous criminal record and is unlikely to re-offend were factors in her sentencing decision.

'He harmed and wounded me'

During the trial, court heard the victim went to Jovel because her English was poor and he was originally from the same country she came from.

In a victim impact speech read in court in May the woman described "deep wounds" and feelings of guilt, worthlessness, shame and anger she's had to live with as a result of the repeated assaults.

"I can feel his hot breath on me, and it makes feel sick to my stomach," she said. "He harmed and wounded me.… He took away my innocence.

"The scars of this crime will remain with me."

The woman told a friend and her mother about the assaults in 1994 but she didn't go to police because she didn't think she would be believed.

After leaving Canada in 2000, the victim got married and had children in another country. While seeing doctors during her pregnancies, she learned Jovel's exams were unnecessary.

In 2010, after she and her family moved back to Winnipeg, she filed a complaint against Jovel with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba.

She was interviewed by the college in 2014 and reported the assault to Winnipeg police later that year.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba suspended Jovel from practising medicine just hours after his conviction in February.

At Wednesday's sentencing, Simonsen ordered Jovel's name be added to the sex offender registry for the next 20 years.