By CHAT News Today

Doctor charged with sexual assault withdraws from practice

Aug 29, 2017 | 10:35 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — A Medicine Hat doctor charged with sexual assault has voluntarily suspended his practice.

“Doctor Ian Gebhardt has voluntarily withdrawn from practice,” said Kelly Eby, director of communications with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, over the phone from Edmonton on Tuesday.

Gebhardt, 55, was charged by the Medicine Hat Police Service earlier this month with one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual exploitation of a person with a disability.

The charges remain before the court.

The alleged assault took place in June 2017 at a walk-in clinic during an examination, according to a release from the Medicine Hat Police Service.

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Eby says a voluntary withdrawal from practice is one option the college has to protect patients while criminal investigations are ongoing.

“The college can impose practice conditions, like having a chaperone in place, or we can temporarily suspend a physician, or a physician can temporarily withdraw from practice,” she said. “It’s not always the same, it depends on the situation, but there are those three options.”

Due to privacy reasons resulting from the Health Professions Act, Eby could not confirm if Gebhardt would be investigated by the college, or if he is currently under investigation.

Gebhardt was released from custody following a Judicial Interim Release (JIR) bail hearing and is scheduled to appear in court on September 14.