Warning: Readers may find content in this article upsetting and triggering.
A former Newmarket, Ont. family doctor accused by 10 patients of sexual assault has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a female patient in 2020 during a pelvic examination.
Retired physician Sam Naghibi, 72, was led away in handcuffs in a Newmarket courtroom and returned to custody Friday following the conviction.
Justice Chris de Sa said he believed the complainant, who said she was sexually violated by her doctor. The Newmarket judge said he rejected Naghibi’s testimony. Naghibi maintained he did not sexually assault the female patient and that she consented to the pelvic exam, though he admitted it was not urgent.
The complainant testified she never consented to Naghibi examining her below the waist, and that she preferred treatment at a women’s clinic for intimate exams.
The sentencing hearing for Naghibi’s second sexual assault conviction is scheduled for mid-April.
The retired family physician from Alliston, Ont. was previously convicted in another trial in June 2024 of sexual assault of a patient and was sentenced to 600 days in custody followed by probation for 18 months.
Additional Allegations
Naghibi was found not guilty of other charges on Friday, including the alleged sexual assault and sexual interference of a different patient. It was alleged he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in 2017 and 2021 during examinations. The Newmarket judge ruled the Crown did not prove Naghibi was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for the alleged sexual assault of the 15-year-old girl and cited inconsistent testimony from witnesses as a factor in his decision.
Naghibi, according to York Regional Police, had been accused of sexually assaulting at least 10 patients dating back about a decade.
Charges stemming from allegations made by seven other complainants have either been withdrawn by the Crown or resulted in acquittal prior to trial.
Naghibi is accused of sexual assault in another matter involving a female patient. The judge-alone trial is scheduled to begin in June. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Medical Background
According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Naghibi resigned from membership 13 months ago and had been restricted from practicing since April of 2021. His lawyers, Jill Makepeace and David Humphrey, confirmed Naghibi is retired.
Police said, at the time of his arrest in 2021, Naghibi worked at a clinic on Davis Drive in Newmarket and one on Wellington Street in Aurora between 2011 and 2021.
Prior to practicing in Ontario, Naghibi was a doctor in Nova Scotia after coming to Canada from Iran in 1998.
