TORONTO — Toronto police have arrested a Toronto-area gynecologist who was suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario after an exam room altercation turned violent and allegedly included him stripping down, shouting racial slurs and chasing the 19-year-old woman with a pair of scissors.
Ontario’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed Tuesday that they were assisting in the investigation of the 52-year-old gynecologist, Samir Sonak. He’s currently being held by Toronto police on $10,000 cash bail.
Micheal Evans, the vice-president of professional conduct at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, said Friday that the investigation was still active.
“As part of our process, we are taking this very seriously and interviewing all staff members who were present at the examination room,” Evans said, adding that the investigator has shared some of the information with the College’s General Investigating and Review Committee.
The incident reportedly occurred in March.
The teen had earlier dropped by the office and was not seeking an appointment or consultation. The gynecologist, in a black robe and a loose-fitting white shirt and pants, conducted a pelvic exam.
After the exam, the woman says she made a Snapchat video, in which she is heard to ask the gynecologist to show her the results. Sonak is seen in the video describing other tests he will be ordering, at which point he appears agitated and talks briefly about legal matters before saying “I know you’re laughing at me …” before suddenly pulling out a pair of scissors and chasing the young woman across the room, yelling racial slurs and swinging the scissors.
“Do you have a medical condition?” Sonak is heard shouting as he repeatedly swings the scissors. The man then dashes across the exam room and grabs the woman’s breasts as he appears to run off.
When the woman fled out of the room, she stood up, pulled down her pants and said to a friend: “I hope I don’t get raped in front of my house.”
The friend allegedly recorded the incident and shared it with CNN.
After the incident, and again on Wednesday, the college said the gynecologist had been suspended from practicing medicine and remains under investigation, alleging a conflict of interest.
The college says Sonak completed a rehabilitation program stemming from a previous complaint to the college, but failed to complete his assessment. It notes that he is a graduate of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a graduate of UBC in Vancouver, British Columbia.
