Vernon chiropractor charged with sexual assault loses licence | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Vernon chiropractor charged with sexual assault loses licence

Murray Kievit.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Rae Kievit

A Vernon chiropractor currently awaiting trial on two charges of sexual assault has had his licence revoked by the regulator.

According to a July 31 College of Chiropractors of BC notice, Dr. Murray Kievit has had his licence permanently cancelled.

The College says it's pulled his licence following a complaint that alleges he inappropriately touched a patient during treatment.

The College says Kievit denies the allegation. He did, however, sign a consent order agreeing to the revocation of his licence, and not to engage in the practice of health care. He was also ordered to pay $1,000 costs.

Last fall, Kievit was charged with two counts of sexual assault involving the same victim. Police allege the sexual assaults took place two days apart in December 2021.

Two days after the alleged sexual assault, the regulator began its investigation and the College put restrictions on Kievit prohibiting him from treating female patients unless there is a chaperone present.

The College said restrictions were placed on the chiropractor in January 2022, but one year later there was no mention of this on its website and instead showed Kievit as "full status" to practice.

It's unclear why the regulator failed to tell the public about the restrictions placed on him for more than a year.

Kievit opened the White House Wellness Centre in Vernon in 2006, and at the time there was no statement on its website that he had restrictions on his licence.

Its website now states Kievit retired July 27, but has no mention that he lost his licence, or has been charged.

Kievit is scheduled to stand trial on the sexual assault charges next January, and this will not be the first time he's been in court defending himself against the same charge.

In 2000, he was acquitted after being charged with sexually assaulting six victims.

The judge found that Crown prosecutors couldn't prove his intent.

Following the trial, the College did however take disciplinary action against him.

He then signed a consent resolution admitting that he had failed to meet the standards of care "in relation to the provision of treatment in the patient's pubic area" which "resulted in unintentional violations of their sexual integrity."

He was barred from treating patients' pubic areas and ordered to "practice in such a way as to maximize patient privacy and minimize accidental or inadvertent contact with patient's breasts or genitals."

He was fined $4,000 and ordered to pay $15,000 in costs.

Almost a decade later he was back in front of the regulator.

In 2009 he admitted he put his hands in the front of a woman's pants without her consent and was suspended for three months.

He was also ordered to have a chaperone present for two years when treating female patients in sexually sensitive areas and was left on the hook for almost $5,000.


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