Hamilton chiropractor charged with alleged sexual assault of two women

A Hamilton police cruiser is featured in this file photo. (Andrew Collins)

HAMILTON -- A Hamilton-area chiropractor, already facing discipline with professional watchdogs, has been charged in connection with two alleged sexual assaults on his patients.

A woman reported to Hamilton police earlier this year that her chiropractor had sexually assaulted her in 2015, officers said Friday.

Police then reopened a previous investigation into the same man, begun in 2016, when another woman reported that he had sexually assaulted her.

Dr. Scott Huehn of Hamilton was charged with two counts of sexual assault on Thursday and released on bail.

His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

As a condition of his bail, Huehn is allowed to continue practising but cannot "be in the company of female patients, including to conduct any physical examinations or medical procedures" unless he is in the presence of a regulated healthcare professional approved of by the College of Chiropractors of Ontario, bail documents show.

He must also, as part of his release, keep a log of all his interactions with patients, which must be made available to the College upon request, the court documents say.

Huehn has faced a disciplinary process with the College since 2017 -- based on allegations made by the woman who spoke to police in 2016 -- but the professional watchdog has not issued any orders with regards to his ability to practise, college registrar and general counsel Jo-Ann Willson said Friday.

The woman who approached police in 2016 also filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario last year, seeking $150,000 in damages from Huehn and her former employers at a local bar, a letter of apology, and an order that her former employers develop a comprehensive sexual harassment policy.

The woman said in her complaint that she received several chiropractic treatments from Huehn, who was also a regular customer at the bar where she worked.

During one chiropractic appointment, Huehn allegedly rubbed the crease of her groin, the complaint says.

At the next session Huehn allegedly "reached underneath her with one hand over her pubic bone and vagina while rubbing her buttocks with the other hand" and told her that it's "good to have a sexual flow of energy" for a chiropractic adjustment, the complaint says.

The woman told her manager about he alleged sexual assaults, and said she no longer felt comfortable serving Huehn at the bar, but she continued to be scheduled to work at times when Huehn regularly came in, she said in her complaint.

"(The woman) experienced a pattern of extreme anxiety, embarrassment and humiliation by the continued presence of Dr. Huehn at the pub and was often driven to tears in front of her co-workers, some of whom thought critically of her and that she was not pulling her weight in not serving Dr. Huehn and his cohort," the human rights complaint says.

The woman also claimed that Huehn and his friends "boycotted" the bar after learning she had filed a police report about him -- a development that led her manager to "confront" her in front of co-workers, the complaint says.

Huehn's lawyer, Samantha Kompa, said last year that the chiropractor is "confident" that the allegations included in the human rights complaint will turn out to be false.

The woman's allegations have not been proven and her complaint is scheduled to be heard by a human rights tribunal on Aug. 8.

The charges are a positive step, the woman's lawyer, Adam Savaglio, said Friday.

"My client is encouraged by these events," he said. "She puts her faith in the judicial system and remains intent on holding all parties accountable at he upcoming human rights tribunal hearing."