Verdict "in doubt"

Sex accusation against doctor from Burgenland: acquittal!

The patients were sedated, as is common practice.(Bild: stock.adobe.com null)

The doctor, who had already been sentenced to an unconditional prison sentence and had appealed against the verdict, is allowed to continue examining patients after a new trial. The man from Burgenland retains his license.

What must the woman who tearfully testified that a doctor had assaulted her while she was in the recovery phase after a colonoscopy and drug sedation be thinking now? He is said to have groped her and performed various sexual acts on her - according to the patient's recollection.

Three other women had similar perceptions of sexual acts after being treated by the doctor. The defendant was sentenced to one year's unconditional imprisonment for this. An appeal for annulment and a Supreme Court ruling later, the man from southern Burgenland was acquitted "in case of doubt" at the retrial in Eisenstadt on Wednesday.

Judgment not legally binding
The doctor's four assistants supported the defendant's statements. They said in unison that he had never been alone with a patient. And: "Almost everyone said after they woke up: I was dreaming so beautifully." The court of lay assessors thus conceded that it could also have been sexual fantasies that were a side effect of the sedative. The blameless doctor may continue to practice as before. The judgment is not legally binding.