The trial of a Toronto pediatrician accused of sexually assaulting some of his young patients began on Monday with testimony from an alleged victim.
Arturo Sanchez, 80, is facing 25 sexual assault and sexual exploitation charges spanning each decade since he became a pediatrician in 1965.
At that time, Sanchez was a resident at The Hospital for Sick Children, where Crown prosecutors allege he tried to inappropriately touch a 14-year-old girl and climb into bed with her in the middle of the night before being stopped by a nurse.
In the 1970s, Sanchez faces allegations that he assaulted an 11-year-old girl. In her testimony, the woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, alleged that Sanchez fondled each of her breasts for approximately three minutes during the visit.
“For me, (that visit) was an eternity,” she said. “It changes a person’s life. You think you get over it, but you really don’t.”
The doctor’s lawyers questioned the 56-year-old woman’s memory of the event after four decades.
The charges against Sanchez involved women aged between 10 and 15 at the time of the alleged assaults. Sanchez was first charged in 2013, when a 15-year-old girl went to police claiming that she had been assaulted in the doctor’s office. Once that charge was publicized, other alleged victims came forward.
Until recently, Sanchez had been allowed to continue practising as long as he had a nurse supervising his visits with patients.
With a report from Austin Delaney
