Former Pembroke doctor facing sexual assault charges

A former doctor in Pembroke, Ont., who lost his licence to practise medicine is facing four criminal charges including the alleged sexual assault of two minors. 

Now 75, Brian Baxter is charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual touching of a minor. Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said it launched an investigation in June following allegations from a Pembroke resident.

It's not the first time Baxter has come under public scrutiny. In 2021, he was referred to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) for disciplinary proceedings following allegations of professional misconduct, including sexual abuse of patients.

He resigned from the college and undertook not to re-apply to practise medicine in Ontario. 

In 2017, the CPSO ordered Baxter to complete special training after it received reports that he'd been trading drug prescriptions for sexual favours and landscaping work from patients. He was also accused of taking patients away for weekends and attending "strip joints" with them.

Following an investigation, the college found the allegations to be untrue, but Baxter admitted to letting patients live in his home and paying for a patient's cell phone.

Denied earlier allegations

Baxter denied the previous allegations with respect to sexual abuse of patients, but acknowledged shortcomings in his practice, including with respect to prescriptions. 

In its public notification detailing his promise to undergo further training including a "boundaries course," the college wrote that Baxter had a history "similar in nature to the allegations." 

In December 2020, he was again being scrutinized by the CPSO after the college said it had "concerns about his standard of practice in his general medicine practice."

He was placed on clinical supervision and limited to seeing 45 patients a day. Baxter promised to take professional education in "opioid prescribing, well-baby care, management of chronic conditions, and medical record-keeping."

He faced more allegations of sexual abuse in 2021, but resigned rather than have the matter sent to the CPSO's discipline committee.