Supporters of Winnipeg doctor convicted of sexual assault disrupt victim impact statement at sentencing

WARNING: This story contains graphic content describing a sexual assault

Supporters of a doctor convicted of sexually assaulting a patient had to be warned to keep quiet while the victim read an impact statement in a packed Winnipeg courtroom Thursday.

Dr. Ramon Eduardo Jovel was convicted of sexual assault in Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench in February after a woman said he "groomed" her for three years with unnecessary and sexual exams between 1991 and 1994.

The victim was 18 years old and had just arrived in Canada from a Spanish-speaking country as a refugee with her family when she started seeing Jovel for menstruation issues.

She chose Jovel because her English was poor and he was originally from the same country she came from, according to Justice Karen Simonsen's written decision from February.

The doctor told the victim to return every month "to get her fluids checked," the February decision said.

During those visits the victim was asked to undress and the doctor would stimulate the woman's clitoris before feeling around her vaginal area to "collect fluid" to make sure she was ovulating, the decision said.

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 victim said the doctor unzipped his pants and started rubbing himself on her hip.

'He took away my innocence'

Extra seating had to be brought into the courtroom for Thursday's sentencing hearing to accommodate the more than 60 people who came in support the doctor, dozens of whom wore T-shirts proclaiming their support of "our doctor." 

The woman, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban, delivered her victim impact statement in court Thursday, speaking for a little more than 20 minutes.

In her statement, the victim described "deep wounds" and the 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."

But when the woman spoke about her fear of persecution from those in her ethnic community who support Jovel, many of those supporters in court laughed loudly, prompting Justice Simonsen to stop the victim and turn her attention to the gallery.

"Just a moment," said Simonsen. "I may ask all of you to leave the courtroom — that is entirely inappropriate.

"That kind of reaction during the reading of her statement is entirely unsatisfactory and if anything like that happens again I will ask all of you to leave."

The victim was able to finish her impact statement without further interruption.

Didn't think she would be believed

The woman told a friend and her mother about the incident in 1994 but she didn't go to police because she didn't think she would be believed. She came from a country where the justice system wasn't trustworthy and hadn't yet developed faith in Canada's, court heard.

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

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

She was interviewed by the college in 2014 and testified at a hearing.

Simonsen's written decision said the woman was dissatisfied with the college's decision and didn't feel there had been justice, so she reported the assault to Winnipeg police in November 2014.

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

Decision delayed

The Crown is asking the court to consider the incidents major sexual assaults, which would bring a minimum sentence of three years for an offender with no previous record, like Jovel.

Crown attorney Danielle Simard called for a sentence of three to four-and-a-half years, with aggravating factors including the doctor's position of trust, the victim's vulnerability and the fact the assaults happened in a clinical setting and were repeated over the span of years.

Defence attorney Marty Minuk asked for a two-year sentence, arguing the incidents don't meet the criteria for major sexual assaults and noting the health and age of Jovel, who will turn 67 this year and is currently under treatment for cancer and lives with Type 2 diabetes.

Justice Simonsen reserved her sentencing decision until July 11.