A prosecutor asked an Ontario Court judge to withdraw charges against Allan Gordon, who was accused of sexually assaulting 18 patients
The Crown has withdrawn all remaining charges against a former prominent Toronto neurologist accused of sexually assaulting 18 patients over a span of 17 years, leaving many of the women feeling betrayed not just by the medical establishment but also by the justice system.
“I am extremely frustrated and saddened,” she said. “I feel like as women with disabilities we are dismissed by the justice system just like we are dismissed by society and the medical establishment.” Dr. Gordon was known as a top pain specialist during his four decades at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital and was director of the hospital’s Wasser Pain Management Centre during the period he was accused of sexual assault, between 2002 and 2018.
The charges against Dr. Gordon followed a Globe and Mail investigation in 2019 that identified at least 10 former patients who allegedphysical examinations. Another 12 former patients came forward to The Globe after the investigation was published, accusing him of similar abuse. Dr. Gordon was the go-to doctor for patients afflicted with a rare disease called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or EDS, a connective-tissue disorder that is often misdiagnosed and misunderstood. Symptoms include chronic migraines, debilitating muscle and joint pain, and abdominal pain.